It's difficult to imagine that hunger exists in America's Heartland, the breadbasket of the world. However, thousands of our Wisconsin neighbors and community members are food insecure - meaning they don't know where or when they'll have their next meal, or hungry, meaning there is no next meal.
According to SchoolFacts09, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayer's Alliance, 34.8% of children in the Eau Claire school district are eligible for free or reduced lunch.
The Wisconsin Food Security Project provides up-to-date county and state level information about food security, economic well being, and the availability and use of public and private programs to increase access to affordable and nutritious foods. Customized food security profiles can be obtained for any Wisconsin county at www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/cfs/index.cfm.
According to the Food Research and Action Center, 15.3% of households in Wisconsin reported food hardship in 2008-2009 when asked "Have there been times in the last 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed." When analyzing the data by Wisconsin households with children, the number of those reporting hardship rises to 20.9% as compared to 12.3% of households without children.
Based on information collected in Wisconsin for the Feeding American study, Hunger in America 2010, hungry and food insecure people are:
Families trying to make ends meet working for poverty level wages.
Children whose cognitive, emotional and physical development depends on access to wholesome foods and good nutrition.
Individuals struggling with health care issues. Half of adults receiving food assistance report that they have unpaid medical or hospital bills.
Nationally, one in eight Americans receives food assistance through the charitable network of Feeding America food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters. This is a 46% increase, or 1 million more people each week, than four
years ago.
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