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FACT SHEET
HUNGER IN AMERICA 2010
Introduction
According to the regional findings reported in the Hunger in America 2010, 201,700 people are receiving
emergency food assistance through the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank’s network of
partner agency feeding programs.
That is an increase of 60 percent over the findings reported four years ago in Hunger in America 2006,
which was based on data collected in 2005.
Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank is providing food for an estimated 27,400 peopleeach
week.
Hunger in America 2010 is the first comprehensive research study that captures the connection between
a weak economy and increased needs for emergency food assistance. The data was collected in the
heart of the 2009 economic downturn (February-June 2009).
Top line Findings
The 201,700 Southwest Virginia residents served annually by Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest
Food Bank include nearly 67 thousand children and more than 14 thousand seniors.
Each week, approximately 27,400 people receive emergency food assistance from an agency served
by a Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank partner agency.
These numbers are based on surveys conducted at emergency feeding centers, such as soup
kitchens and food pantries, but do not factor in many individuals also served at non-emergency
locations, such as Kids Cafe programs and senior centers.
Client Households
70 percent of total client households served are food insecure, meaning they do not always know
where they will find their next meal.
81 percent of the client households reported that, during the previous 12 months, they had been in
a situation where the food they bought “just didn’t last” and they did not have money to get more.
67 percent of households with children younger than 18 years old are also food insecure.
Of the 201,700 people the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank network serves:
o
84 percent of client households had income of 130% of the federal poverty level or below
the previous month.
o
The average monthly income for client households is $960.
o
34 percent of households have one or more adults who is working.
o
6 percent (12,000) of client households are homeless.
Tough Choices
Many of the client households served by Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank report that
their household incomes are inadequate to cover their basic household expenses.
42 percent of client households served report having to choose between paying for utilities or
heating fuel and food.
27 percent of client households said they had to choose between paying for rent or a mortgage and
food.
25 percent of client households report having to choose between paying for medical bills and food.
28 percent of client households must choose between transportation and food.
Nearly one in four client households (21 percent) do not have health insurance themselves or have
someone in the household who does not have access to health insurance. More than half (60 percent) of
our adult clients report that they have unpaid medical and hospital bills.
Fourty-one percent of households report having at least one member of their household in poor health.
Role of Federal Government
57 percent of clients receive food from TEFAP.
53 percent of client households are receiving SNAP (formerly food stamps) benefits, more than
double the clients in 2006.
51 percent of client households with children ages 0 to 3 participate in the WIC program.
Among households with school-age children, 76 percent participate in the federal school lunch
program and 68 percent participate in the school breakfast program.
Agencies
Feeding America food banks provide food and groceries to 33,500 food pantries, 4,500 soup
kitchens and 3,600 emergency shelters nationwide.
82 percent of Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank pantries rely solely on volunteers
and have no paid staff.
73 percent of all Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank agencies, are faith-based
agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious organizations; 17
percent are other types of nonprofit organizations.
About the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank
The Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank was founded in 1981 and is an affiliate member of
Feeding America. The Food Bank’s ultimate mission is to eliminate hunger in the region. The primary
function of the Food Bank is to secure large quantities of food for the hungry. More than 13-million pounds of food is channeled through a network of more than 340 partner feeding programs (in a 26- county and 10-city region) that provide food or meals to those in need annually. Visit
www.swvafoodbank.org for more information.
Methodology
Hunger in America 2010 is a scientific study conducted more than 62,000 face-to-face interviews with
people seeking emergency food assistance from one of the nearly 63,000 agencies served by a Feeding
America food bank.
More than 37,000 agencies also participated in Hunger in America 2010 by completing an agency
survey.
National Findings
Background: The National Economic Landscape
The economic recession of 2009, resulting in dramatically increasing unemployment and poverty
nationwide, has driven sharp increases in need for emergency food assistance and enrollment in federal
nutrition programs.
The 46 percent increase in need is likely being driven by the dramatically increasing rates of
unemployment and poverty.
During 2005, when the last Hunger in America data was collected, the national unemployment rate
averaged 5.1 percent.1
When the data collection for the 2010 study commenced in late winter and spring of 2009, the recession was in full swing and the unemployment rate was rising rapidly, jumping from 4.9percent at the start of recession2 in December 2007, to 9.5percent when client data collection was completed in June 2009.
In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that when individuals with“marginal labor force
attachment” and those who were working part-time involuntarily were considered, more than 17
percent of the population was affected in late 2009 by the shifting employment trends.
Clients, Income and Eligibility for Federal Programs Nationally
More than 70 percent of clients have household incomes below the federal poverty line, 88 percent have household monthly incomes at or below 130 percent of poverty and 96 percent have household monthly incomes at or below 185 percent of poverty.
The majority of households seeking assistance from the Feeding America network are eligible for federal
nutrition programs. However, 21 percent of households are not income eligible for SNAP benefits.
While there is an obvious relationship between poverty and the ability of households to access food, USDA data indicates that 31percent of people who are food insecure in the United States live above 185percent of poverty and therefore not eligible for SNAP.
Food banks are the main source of food for local hunger-relief charities in the nation.
1 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Found on the web December 16, 2009 at
http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS14000000
2 The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the beginning of the 2008-2009 recession from December 2007.
NBER defines a recession as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than
a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators (Found on the web
December 16, 2009 at http://www.nber.org/cycles/dec2008.html).
Hunger in America SWVA Fact Sheet
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