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Environmental and Social Issues Resource Center
ESIRC Worldwide™
Hunger in the USA
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Although related, food insecurity and poverty are not the same. Poverty in the United States is only one of many factors associated with food insecurity.
In fact, higher unemployment, lower household assets, and certain demographic characteristics also lead to a lack of access to adequate, nutritious food. Read on for national hunger and poverty facts and statistics, or visit Map the Meal Gap for state-specific information.
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Poverty Statistics in the United States in 2014:
. 46.7 million people (14.8 percent) were in poverty.
. 15.5 million (21.1 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
. 4.6 million (10 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.
The overall national poverty rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 15.3 percent, as compared with the official poverty rate of 14.8 percent.
Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, there are 48.4 million people living in poverty, nearly 2 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46.7 million).
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Hunger Facts
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Hunger in CANADA
Facts about food insecurity
Thirteen percent of Canadians live in a state of food insecurity, which means they do not have reliable access to adequate amounts of safe, good-quality, nutritious food. The root cause of hunger in Canada is low income, which consistently affects more than four million of us at any given time.
Food banks are an important method of addressing this need. Each month, over 850,000 people turn to food banks for help; more than one-third are children and youth.
The people who visit food banks come from all backgrounds.
They include families with children, employed people whose low wages do not cover basic living essentials, individuals on social assistance, and Canadians living on a fixed income, including seniors and people with disabilities. to learn more click here
