Foundation Journal

Realm of the report is on a definition of food security based on the number of postitive responses to indicators of frequency of food consumption, affordability, quality, and quantity. Report reflects well-known demographics, specifically much higher prevalence of food insecurity among single women head of households (with children), Blacks, Hispanics, and in southern states. Statistics sometimes mask a true understanding by removing personal stories. USDA report taken with Feeding American's Hunger Study show common characteristics. Missouri rank in food insecurity has drastically increased in recent years, as has Kansas. This despite Missouri leading place of those applications for SNAP that are elgible. Immersed in Feeding America statistics showing 3 billion pounds of food distributed per year through the network of 200 US food banks. USDA shows 2.88 bill pounds distributed in 2000. TEFAP commondity accounts for 14% of food distributed through pantries. SNAP assists...

The USDA released it's annual report on food security on November 15, 2010. "The food security of U.S. households, when measured over the entire year, remained essentially unchanged from 2008 to 2009, with the prevalence of food insecurity at each level of severity remaining at the highest percentage observed since nationally representative food security surveys began in 1995."

The US Department of Agriculture will release a report on hunger on Monday, November 15. The report will feature statistics on 2009, a normal lag in reporting statistics, and will likely show an increase in food insecurity throughout the U.S. Last year's report covering 2008 showed 49 million people living at risk of hunger, a huge 11% increase from the previous reporting year. Chart on food insecurity from last year's USDA report.

Last week the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security at the University of Missouri in Columbia released its updated Missouri Hunger Atlas . The atlas provides a county-by-county statistical accounting of the levels of hunger in Missouri. The atlas reflects trends documented in news reports and national hunger studies, like the recent report in the Kansas City Star that shows food stamp use in Kansas increasing 20% in a single year from 2008 to 2009. However, given the significant drop in jobs and income in Missouri over the past few years, the report underscores a possibly chronic, long-term hunger problem. The report does not investigate how to create jobs that will pay sustaining wages; the purpose of the atlas is to show the level of food insecurity and the response to meet the need. Given the drastic decline in local property taxes, decrease in education funding, and drop in job skills training programs, it's difficult to maintain an optimistic view for working families...