Recent Posts

The Number of People Receiving Food Assistance Continues to Rise (USDA, Food and Nutrition Service, September 4, 2009)

The monthly number of people receiving SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) has risen in almost every month since February 2007, from 26.2 million to 35.1 million in June 2009.   The number of households receiving SNAP has increased from 11.6 million to 15.9 million during the same time period. In just the past year (since June…

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Another Measure of Food Insecurity Among Children (Children’s HealthWatch, August 2009)

Data collected in the Children’s HealthWatch sample shows an increase in food insecurity among families with young children from 18.5% in 2007 to 22.6% in 2008. They also find that children who are food insecure are 30% more likely to be hospitalized, 90% more likely to be in fair or poor health, and nearly twice as likely to have iron deficiency anemia.

A Study Funded by the USDA Finds That the School Breakfast Program is Utilized by the Most Vulnerable Children (USDA, July 2009)

Children utilizing the School Breakfast Program tend to be among the most vulnerable, yet some 38% of food insecure children do not participate. The program appears to enhance food security among families at the margin and increases the probability that low-income children will eat breakfast.

USDA Releases Report on Food Deserts in the United States (Economic Research Service, USDA, June 2009)

The USDA studied communities with limited access to affordable and nutritious food. They found that a relatively small percentage of households lack access to a supermarket or large grocery store: 2.3 million households in the United States (2.2%) live more than a mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle.