Hunger in the DC Metro Area >

THE FACE OF HUNGER

Hunger is defined as the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food.

Food security is defined as assured access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life, with no need for recourse to emergency food sources or other extraordinary coping behaviors to meet basic food needs.

Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources.

Poverty:  The Capital Area Food Bank defines poverty based upon 185 percent of the federal government poverty guidelines.  This means that a household may earn up to 185 percent of the U.S. government's standard of poverty and still be considered "in poverty."  This measure is utilized by the federal government to determine eligibility for many government programs.

• We estimate that approximately 633,000 residents in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area are at risk of hunger, 200,000 are children. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).
• Nearly 65 percent of Capital Area Food Bank clients are classified as food insecure. (Hunger in America 2001, Mathematica Policy Research)
• The Capital Area Food Bank serves over 275,000 local residents who are at risk of hunger every year. (Hunger in America 2001, Mathematica Policy Research)

FAMILIES

• Over 40 percent of households served by the Capital Area Food Bank have children.
• A majority of food recipients at the over 700 partner agencies in the Washington Metro area are families.
•  Nearly 60 percent of surveyed Food Bank clients reported that 1 or more adults are employed in the household. (Hunger in America 2001, Mathematica Policy Research)
• The U.S. Conference of Mayors 25-city survey for 2003 reported that requests for emergency food assistance from families with children in Washington, D.C. increased 33 percent from 2002 to 2003.

CHILDREN

• 1 in 2 school age children in the District of Columbia is at risk of hunger.  In Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, 1 in 5 school age children is at risk of hunger and in Northern Virginia, 1 in 6.
• 51.3 percent of children in Washington, D.C. live below poverty compared with 34.5 percent nationally. (U.S. Census Bureau 2002)
• Among households with children, over 60 percent are food insure and nearly 15 percent are experiencing hunger. (Hunger in America 2001, Mathematica Policy Research)

SENIORS

• Approximately 11 percent of Food Bank clients are senior citizens.
• 1 in 3 of D.C.'s senior citizens is at risk of or suffering from hunger. (U.S. Census, 2000)
• The Brown Bag Program, which provides a supplemental bag of food monthly, has doubled the number of sites serving Senior Citizens from 2003 to 2004.
• Many elderly people are food insecure and in need of nutrition-related assistance. According to USDA, in 1999, 1.4 million households with elderly people reported that they were food insecure, meaning that they did not have enough of the right types of food needed to maintain their health or simply did not have enough to eat.

WORKING POOR

• Approximately 60 percent of Capital Area Food Bank households surveyed reported that at least 1 or more adults were currently employed. (Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. 2001).
• Only 3 percent of Capital Area Food Bank clients are homeless.  (Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. 2001)
• Minimum wage is $5.15.  Women made 76 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2003.  (Census Bureau, 2003).
• In the District and Maryland, the uninsured rate rose to 13.6 percent in 2003 up from 12.8 percent in 2002.  In Virginia, the uninsured rate rose to 13.3 percent up from 12.2 percent over the same time period. (Census Bureau, 2003).