Annually, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports on food insecurity and hunger in America. Shortly thereafter, Children's Alliance analyses that data and produces its own report.
This year's Children's Alliance report is available for download at http://www.childrensalliance.org/sites/default/files/Hungry_in_Washington_2015.pdf.
Key takeaways from this report are that hungry families are not experiencing an economic recovery and that households with children experience greater hunger and food insecurity than other households.
(My unofficial differentiation between food insecurity and hunger is that people facing food insecurity are not sure where their next meal is coming from and people with hunger discovered that their next meal did not come and they actually had to skip it.)
There are a number of factors impacting food insecurity according to the USDA. Among these are low wages, high housing costs, moving frequently, a high tax burden on low-income households, and low rates of participation in federal food programs. Washington has been ranked 50th out of the states for its regressive tax structure, 37th in reaching low-income children with summer nutrition, and 43rd in reaching low-income students with school breakfast. Yakima County has relatively low wages and high housing costs.
Currently, Washington ranks 28th among the states for food insecurity (13.7% or just under 1 in 8 households) and 23rd among the states for hunger (5.5% or about 1 in 18 households).
Hunger and food insecurity are major problems, only temporarily and partially relieved by organizations such as us. Children's Alliance has recommendations for government action. We concur in those recommendations but also encourage methods to increase wages, reduce housing costs, increase community stability, and promote a more progressive tax structure.
This year's Children's Alliance report is available for download at http://www.childrensalliance.org/sites/default/files/Hungry_in_Washington_2015.pdf.
Key takeaways from this report are that hungry families are not experiencing an economic recovery and that households with children experience greater hunger and food insecurity than other households.
(My unofficial differentiation between food insecurity and hunger is that people facing food insecurity are not sure where their next meal is coming from and people with hunger discovered that their next meal did not come and they actually had to skip it.)
There are a number of factors impacting food insecurity according to the USDA. Among these are low wages, high housing costs, moving frequently, a high tax burden on low-income households, and low rates of participation in federal food programs. Washington has been ranked 50th out of the states for its regressive tax structure, 37th in reaching low-income children with summer nutrition, and 43rd in reaching low-income students with school breakfast. Yakima County has relatively low wages and high housing costs.
Currently, Washington ranks 28th among the states for food insecurity (13.7% or just under 1 in 8 households) and 23rd among the states for hunger (5.5% or about 1 in 18 households).
Hunger and food insecurity are major problems, only temporarily and partially relieved by organizations such as us. Children's Alliance has recommendations for government action. We concur in those recommendations but also encourage methods to increase wages, reduce housing costs, increase community stability, and promote a more progressive tax structure.
RSS Feed