Food Security: 1998 USDA and Other Studies
The news is still not good for thousands of Pennsylvanians
who lack food resources and struggle to feed their families.
Pennsylvania is doing well in comparison to the other 49 states
in the area of food security, but that is little consolation
for the 288,000 men, women, and children who don’t have
enough to eat in 1998.
That number comes from a report released October 14 by Dan
Glickman, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA). The report is the first of what is certain to become
an annual self-examination of our progress as a Commonwealth
and as a nation in ending the disgrace of domestic hunger.
The USDA survey also measures the number of households experiencing
food security, which is 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. In 1998 7.5 percent of Pennsylvania households
lacked food security, encompassing approximately 900,000 individuals.
Charitable food providers in Pennsylvania report either steady
or increased need for food assistance over the past year. A
study commissioned by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food
Bank concludes that despite the unprecedented economic boom,
the number of households relying on charitable food assistance
had not decreased. In Delaware County the Interfaith Coalition
of Food Centers reports that demand was steady during 1998 but
began to increase sharply in March 1999. In Philadelphia and
its surrounding suburbs, requests for food assistance have increased
by 18 percent in the last year, according to a study conducted
by Philabundance, a food recovery and distribution agency. The
Central PA Food Bank reports that the number of pantries is
growing and that newly established pantries are serving twice
as many households as anticipated.
Looking at the States....
In the state-by-state comparison, food insecurity ranged from
4.6 % of households in North Dakota to 15.1 % of households
in New Mexico. Pennsylvania’s rate of 7.1 % puts it eighth
best in the nation for the lowest rate. Food insecurity in the
US seems to follow a geographic pattern with the most food insecure
areas in the West and South. Those at the other end of the spectrum
(the more food secure) extend from the Dakotas across the Great
Lakes and the Ohio River Valley to the Atlantic Coast, including
Pennsylvania and excluding West Virginia, New York and parts
of New England.
Pennsylvania also is near the best in the state-by-state ranking
of the incidence of hunger. Only North Dakota, South Dakota
and Massachusetts had lower rates of household hunger. Households
are identified as experiencing hunger if at least some time
during the year people in those households skip meals or reduce
meal size for an extended period of time because there isn’t
enough money to buy food.
The report averages data collected across Pennsylvania through
monthly Current Population Survey interviews. Between one-quarter
and one-third of the interviews are done in person; the balance
are conducted by telephone. Like all averages, this one masks
regional differences. It also fails to capture data about people
who do not live in an established household.
Karen Wilson of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against
Hunger notes, "Because we know the census figures do not
adequately account for those without homes and some of those
without phones, the figures may not accurately describe the
reality of food insecurity in Philadelphia."
Not surprisingly food insecurity is closely linked with poverty;
food insecure households are more likely than other households
to have low income and to be food stamp eligible.
Hunger Increases Nationally....
National statistics released on July 15 by the USDA show that
despite the strong US economy, the number of hungry Americans
increased by 16 percent from 1997 to 1998.
The data, contained in the second part of a USDA
annual series, Measuring Food Security in the United States,
is available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/menu/whatsnew/new.htm.
Both the earlier and the present report utilize a direct survey
measure of the severity and the extent of food insecurity and
hunger.
The report indicates that nationally from 1996 to 1997 there
was a significant reduction in hunger. However, from 1997 to
1998 the incidence of hunger increased again. In the 1997 just
over eight million persons lived in households that experienced
hunger. During 1998 that number jumped to nearly ten million,
an increase of 16 percent.
Specific figures, expressed as percentages of all US Households,
follow:
- Food insecurity without hunger in 1996 6.3
- Food insecurity with hunger in 1996 4.1
- Food insecurity without hunger in 1997 5.6
- Food insecurity with hunger in 1997 3.1
- Food insecurity without hunger in 1998 6.6
- Food insecurity with hunger in 1998 3.5
Food Stamps,"Food Insurance"
for Those Who Have Fallen Behind....
USDA Secretary Dan Glickman, in remarks accompanying the release
of the latest USDA data, stressed the importance of the Food
Stamp Program in reducing hunger. "We have the strongest
economy in a generation," said Glickman, "and millions
of Americans have left the welfare rolls. Yet, while the number
of families on food stamps has declined over the last five years,
the number of families who experience hunger has not changed."
Glickman announced the USDA has launched an education and information
campaign to target the working poor, legal immigrants and the
elderly, all of whom have low rates of participation in the
Food Stamp Program.
Berry Friesen, executive director of Hunger Action, urged Pennsylvania’s
Department of Public Welfare (DPW) to act with similar dispatch.
"Many more people are employed, but often at wages that
don’t feed a family. Meanwhile participation in the food
stamp program has dropped much faster than can be accounted
for by the decrease in poverty. That’s why soup kitchens
and food pantries continue to be so busy. We need DPW to let
people know about food stamps."
Glickman also announced new flexibility in USDA regulations
to help states reduce hunger through the Food Stamp Program.
Included are options that would make it easier for working families
to own a reliable car and that would allow working families
to report income fluctuations less frequently. Glickman has
sent a letter to the governors of each of the fifty states urging
them to take advantage of the new flexibility.
See also , a composite of the Hunger
1997: The Faces and Facts, study by Second Harvest National
Food Bank Network. The Pennsylvania data was compiled and analyzed
by Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, 1998; and Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project
(CCHIP) conducted by Just Harvest and the Food Research
and Action Center 1993-94.
USDA Studies, An Important Tool for Analysis
both nationally and in Pennsylvania....
Despite its deficiencies, the USDA survey will be an important
tool for state policy makers, charities, and a host of other
concerned groups. State governments administer national nutrition
programs (such as food stamps, WIC, and School Breakfast and
School Lunch) and also provide key supplements to the federal
anti-hunger effort. In Pennsylvania that includes the State
Food Purchase Program, which is a national model for providing
nutritious food to charitable food providers. Through its management
of cash assistance programs and its ability to promote opportunity
and equity, states also shape the larger economic environment
that is the source of food security. The USDA data will provide
information to help evaluate and improve Pennsylvania’s
effort.
One of the most troubling findings from the report is that
the gain in food security that Pennsylvania achieved between
1996 and 1997 were lost between 1997 and 1998. Whether or not
this downturn continues has yet to be determined. What is clear
is that at the end of 1998 Pennsylvania had more food insecure
people than in the two previous years. Policy makers must take
a close look at the accessibility of food programs that could
get us back on track. It is simply unacceptable for thousands
of families to be lacking basic food needs within the bustling
economy of our food-rich Commonwealth.
Nationally 9.7 percent of households, including 31 million
individuals, experienced food insecurity in 1998. Of that total,
3.5 percent of households, including 9.4 million people, also
experienced hunger. Children are about 40 percent of that number.
PA Hunger Action Center ( 5-19-00)
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