SoSA | Hunger in America


	Gleaning America's Fields ~ Feeding America's Hungry

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Hunger in America

We have the means to end hunger in America as the first step to ending global hunger. In fact, God has provided so abundantly that there is enough food produced to make sure no one ever goes hungry.

In the United States, according to the USDA, 27 percent of all the food produced each year is lost at the retail, consumer, and food service levels. That turns out to be about nearly 1.5 tons of food per year for every man, woman, and child in the United States who faces hunger. To put it another way, in the U.S. we throw away about 263,013,699 pounds of food a day... every single day! And much of what is wasted actually is just surplus food. It is perfectly edible.

You can see by the counter to the left how much food has gone to waste just since this page was loaded in your browser. Again, much of what goes to waste is surplus food. It is nutritious and edible. And while all that good food is being wasted, there are more than 40 million Americans who struggle daily to get enough to eat. Nearly half of these people are children. A large number are elderly. But no matter who they are, or where they live, or why they are impoverished, there is no excuse for anyone to go hungry in America when so much food goes to waste.

read more about food waste

U.S. Hunger Facts

Poverty is the leading cause of hunger in America. Over 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line and are at risk of hunger.

12.5 percent of the nation's population lived in poverty in 2007.
In 2007, the poverty rate for families was 9.8 percent, comprising 7.6 million families.
The poverty rate in 2007 for American children under 18 was 18.0 percent, up from 17.4 percent in 2006.

13 million children live in poverty in the U.S.
The U.S. poverty rate for people 65 and over is 9.7 percent; 3.5 million elderly live in poverty.
Of all family groups, poverty is highest among those headed by single women.
As a whole, U.S. cities report that they are not able to meet the need for providing shelter for homelessness persons have a limited ability to meet the need for emergency food assistance.
An estimated 24 to 27 million people in the U.S. turned to hunger relief agencies in 2006.
35.9% of American households receiving food from food banks, shelters, and pantries have one or more adults employed.

census bureau poverty data

Solving Hunger in America

There is not just one cause of hunger, which means there is not just one solution. But one thing is clear: hunger in America is solvable. It isn't an issue of producing more food, because we produce more than enough to feed everyone already. It is instead an issue of will. The simple truth is that hunger exists in the United States because we Americans tolerate it.

Every American can do something to end hunger in the U.S. Involvement begins with being informed. Read the reports about hunger linked on this page and from other sources, and consider the solutions they propose. You can also get personally involved in helping those in need by providing financial assistance, and volunteering with our ministry.

get involved in ending hunger in America

Links to U.S. Poverty Research Organizations

	Institute for Research on Poverty		Institute for Policy Research
	National Poverty Center		Rural Poverty Research Center
	Center for Poverty Research		Center for Children in Poverty
	Center on Urban Poverty		Institute on Race and Poverty

Reports About U.S. Hunger

USDA Report

Estimating & Addressing America's Food Losses - This is the landmark 1997 report that estimates food loss in various parts of America's food system.

USDA food loss report

U.S. Government Report

In 2009, 85 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year, and 14.7 percent of households were food insecure at least some time during that year. This remains the highest recorded prevalence rate of food insecurity since 1995 when the first national food security survey was conducted.

USDA hunger report

Feeding America Study

Hunger in America 2010 is the largest study of domestic hunger, providing comprehensive and statistically-valid data on our emergency food distribution system. Hunger in America 2010 is extremely detailed, drawing on data from more than 61,000 interviews with clients and surveys of 37,000 feeding agencies.

U.S. hunger study

Sodexo Foundation Report

Hunger has a cost far beyond human suffering. The Sodexo Foundation researched the monetary cost of hunger to the United States. It found hunger costs far more than it would take to ensure that no citizen is at risk of hunger.

cost of hunger report

Senior Citizens Hunger Study

In March of 2008, the Meals on Wheels Association of America released a report about senior hunger in America. The report says more than 5 million seniors face the threat of hunger, an astonishing 11.4 percent of all seniors.

senior hunger report

U.S. Mayors Hunger Report

The U.S. Conference of Mayors issued a 2007 report about homelessness and hunger in American cities. It found that main causes of hunger and homelessness in cities are poverty, unemployment, and high housing costs.

mayors report