Washington, D.C., September 5, 2024 – Bread for the World released the following on the publication of the USDA’s Household Food Security in the United States in 2023 report. The report found that 13.5 percent of households, 47.4 million people – including 13.8 million children, were food insecure. This was “statistically significantly higher” than the 12.8 percent recorded in 2022.
“It is dismaying that food insecurity in the U.S. has continued to rise over the past two years considering we have the tools and know-how to end it,” said Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World. “We must elect candidates in November who will champion policies and programs that will end hunger.”
Bread’s Vote to End Hunger campaign encourages people to vote for candidates in the upcoming election who will make ending hunger a priority.
The report also found that certain households had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average, including:
- Households with children – 17.9 percent
- Households with children headed by a single woman – 34.7 percent
- Households with reported incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold – 33.5 percent
- Black households – 23.3 percent, and Hispanic households – 21.9 percent, experienced food insecurity rates that are more than twice the rate of White households – 9.9 percent.
“As Jesus reminds us, whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do as unto him (Matthew 25:40). The fact that so many children are experiencing food insecurity points to the need for lawmakers to pass effective policies such as another expanded Child Tax Credit that is distributed monthly and fully refundable and can put a dent in child hunger and poverty. Likewise, we must further strengthen and fund critical programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to ensure families struggling with food insecurity can put good, nutritious food on the table,” added Cho.
