Do you know the face of hunger in your community?

The United States has one of the highest poverty rates among industrialized nations.

What do hunger and food insecurity mean in the United States?
USDA defines food insecurity by households that do not have adequate access to
healthy food for an active, healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity with hunger means that
families go without food for some days out of the month and in sever cases children
go without food for one or more days a month. It is the lack of access to enough
food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources. Some
people may find themselves skipping meals or cutting back on the quality or
quantity of food they purchase at the stores. This recurring and involuntary lack of
access to food can lead to malnutrition over time and other debilitating effects.

US Hunger and Poverty Stats

• In 2008, 39.8 million people (13.2 percent) were in poverty.
• In 2008, 8.1 million families (10.3% percent) were in poverty.
• In 2008, 22.1 million of people aged 18-64 (11.7 percent) were in poverty.
• In 2008, 14 million children under the age of 18 (19 percent) were in poverty.
• In 2008, 3.6 million (9.7 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

NH does not measure hunger directly – hunger and food insecurity are measured
by proxy utilizing poverty statistic.
In 2008

• 97,158 people in NH lived below federal poverty line; 7.3% of NH house-
  holds experience food insecurity – not knowing whether they will be able
  to access enough food throughout the year.
• The federal poverty income guideline for a family of four in 2008 was
  $22,025
• 11,943 people (8.1%) were living in poverty in Merrimack County in 2008.
• 22.6% were children under the age of 18
• 12.9% were seniors aged 65 or over

Other facts:

• Majority of NH poor and food insecure work
• NH Health and Human Services reported a 33% increase in food stamps
  from September 2008 to September 2009
• Concord Human Services reported a 40% increase in food stamps from
  September through October 2009
• Competing basic human needs, food, shelter, clothing cannot be met with
  low wage jobs