Well we were ask to provide statistics to back up our argument. I said that hunger is a major problem of the world today. Well it goes without saying that everyone agree that hunger is a major problem so I doubt  anyone would want to argue against that. Of  course, I will still do some research to provide some numbers  so people will have a better understand of  how much a problem hunger really is  in our society.  So here are some facts I found while I was googling around:

This is a little statistics from www.frac.org which is the Food Research and Action Center website.

• 36.2 million people lived in households considered to be food insecure.
• Of these 36.2 million, 23.8 million are adults (10.6 percent of all adults) and 12.4 million are children (16.9 percent of all children).
• The number of people in the worst-off households increased to 11.9 from 10.8 in 2005. This increase in the number of people in the worst-off category is consistent with other studies and the Census Bureau poverty data, which show worsening conditions for the poorest Americans.
• Black (22.2 percent) and Hispanic (20.1 percent) households experienced food insecurity at far higher rates than the national average.
• The ten states with the highest food insecurity rates in 2007 were Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Maine, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

This is statistics taken from the www.feedingamerica.org:

Hunger and Poverty Statistics

Poverty[1]

• 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[2]

• 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.2
• 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.2
• 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.2
• 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.2
• 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.[3]
• Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to approximately 4.5 million different people in any given week.3
• 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.3

Top Eleven States in Prevalence of Food Insecurity, Average 2005-2007[4]

U.S. 11.0 percent

AR 14.4 percent

GA 13.0 percent

KS 13.0 percent

KY 12.7 percent

ME 13.3 percent

MO 12.9 percent

MS 17.4 percent

NM 15.0 percent

OK 13.0 percent

SC 13.1 percent

TX 14.8 percent

As you can see, even  though America is one of the top countries in the world, hunger still affect us.  Looking at these stats,  everyone need to start helping out so that those that are suffering out there can receive some kind of  help. Well what exactly do hunger mean in the US? Is it those that  have nothing to eat at all? Well hunger refer to those that does have have enough to eat for an extended period of time. Most of the time this is a result of poverty and unemployment. Remember that time when you have to study and haven’t ate anything all day? Yeah, remember how that stomach was  growling and you’re all whiny? Now imagine experiencing that everyday and can’t do anything about it. Since we are so blessed to be able to have food to eat and clothes to wear, we should help those that don’t have it. God provided us with things that we needed but he don’t want us to pay him back thus we should pay it forward! Have you guys watch that movie? It’s an awesome movie  and I wish everyone would  follow that little kid examples. Imagine we help someone and they pay it forward to help someone else, it will be like a chain reaction! so now your small deed end up helping a whole lot of people! Wouldn’t that make you feel good? So this is what you need to do! you can come up with your own project to help poverty and hunger, you can google up different agency around your area and donate your time or food, or you can help me  on my project when I set it up! It wouldn’t take a lot out of anyone time and it will end up saving lives, I think that’s a pretty good deal. Come on, I know everyone believe in karma, well at least I do. So if I help others now, when I need it later on in life, I am sure karma will help me and return the favor!

Sources:

Hunger in the U.S..” Food Research and Action Center. 24 Nov 2008. Web. 13 Oct 2009. <http://frac.org /html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger_index.html

“Hunger and Poverty Statistics.” Feeding America. Web. 13 Oct 2009. <http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-101/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx>.

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