During the month of December, I am going to focus on the problem of hunger in America, particularly childhood hunger. Although it may appear unrelated to the main topic of this blog, it actually is not. Whether it is because of over-abundance of food or because of hunger, poor childhood nutrition is a common concern. In both cases, our children face a future of poor health, lost opportunities and unrealized dreams.

Here are some facts about hunger based on 2008 data that may surprise you:

1. There were 17.2 million households that faced food insecurity. This means that they had trouble providing food to all family members sometime during the year.
2. About  6.7 million were characterized as facing very low food security.
3. Over half of the food insecure households were white, non-Hispanic.
4. Hunger is a problem even for those who may not be homeless or out of work. 36% of individuals served by Feeding America network of food banks have at least one working adult in the household.
5. Over 1 million children live in households with very low food security. Although children are generally shielded from these problems, there were over half million households where both children and adults experienced very low food security.

Sources:

USDA report on Household Food Security in 2008
Share Our Strength Hunger Facts
Feeding America Hunger 101