Hunger and Poverty Statistics

Poverty

  • In 2007, 37.3 million people (12.5%) were in poverty.
  • In 2007, 7.6 (9.8%) million families were in poverty.
  • In 2007, 20.3 million (10.9%) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty.
  • In 2007, 13.3 million (18%) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
  • In 2007, 3.6 million (9.7%) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Security

  • In 2007, 36.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 23.8 million adults and 12.4 million children.
  • In 2007, 11.1 percent of households (13 million households) were food insecure, a statistically insignificant increase from 10.9 percent (12.6 million households) in 2006.
  • In 2007, 4.1 percent of households (4.7 million households) experienced very low food security, a statistically insignificant increase from 4 percent in 2006.
  • In 2007, households with children reported food insecurity at almost double the rate for those without children, 15.8 percent compared to 8.7 percent.
  • In 2007, households that were more likely to experience food insecurity were households with children (15.8%), households with children headed by single women (30.2 percent) or single men (18 percent), households with incomes below the poverty line (37.7 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (22.2 percent) and Hispanic households (20.1 percent).
  • In 2007, 6.5 percent of households with seniors (1.7 million households) were food insecure (low food security and very low food security), a statistically significant increase from 6 percent (1.5 million households) in 2006.

Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programs

  • In 2007, 3.4 percent of all U.S. households (3.9 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times.
  • In 2007, food insecure (low food security or very low food security) households were 17 times more likely than food-secure households to have obtained food from a food pantry.
  • In 2007, food insecure (low food security or very low food security) households were 19 times more likely than food-secure households to have eaten a meal at an emergency kitchen.
  • In 2007, 53.9 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs – Food Stamp Program, The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
  • Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 25 million low-income people annually, an 8 percent increase from 23 million since Hunger In America 2001.
  • Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to approximately 4.5 million different people in any given week.
  • Among members of Feeding America, 65 percent of pantries, 61 percent of kitchens, and 52 percent of shelters reported that there had been an increase since 2001 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites.



[1] U.S. Census Bureau. Carmen DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, C. Lee. Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007.
[2] USDA. Mark Nord, M. Andrews, S. Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2007.
[3] Rhoda Cohen, M. Kim, J. Ohls. Hunger In America 2006. Feeding America.
[4] USDA. Mark Nord, M. Andrews, S. Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2007.