Landmark New Study Reveals an Unprecedented Number of Vermonters Seeking Emergency Food Assistance
For Immediate Release
Media Contact
Judy Stermer, Vermont Foodbank
802-477-4108
Landmark New Study Reveals an Unprecedented Number of Vermonters Seeking Emergency Food Assistance
Largest, Most Comprehensive Study Ever Conducted On Emergency Food Distribution Reports as Many as 86,000 Vermonters Served, More than 20,000 Children
BARRE --- February 2, 2010 --- A landmark study released today by the Vermont Foodbank and Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that as many as 86,000 people, including more than 20,000 children, receive emergency food each year through the Vermont Foodbank.
Hunger in America 2010 is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. The number of children and adults in need of food has significantly increased.
In Vermont nearly 40% of client households are experiencing very low food security-or hunger-a 3 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
An estimated 8,200 of our neighbors receive emergency food assistance each week from a food shelf, soup kitchen, or other agency served by the Vermont Foodbank.
Nationally, more than one in three client households are experiencing very low food security, a 54 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
An estimated 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food shelf, soup kitchen, or other agency served by one of Feeding America's more than 200 food banks, including the Vermont Foodbank. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
"The key findings of Hunger in America 2010 mirror the most recent UDSA's Household Food Security in the United States and the stories we hear from out network partners everyday," said John Sayles, Vermont Foodbank CEO. "Demand for emergency food is up statewide for a variety of reasons. Our neighbors need good jobs, but until employers can start hiring, it is essential that everyone has enough to eat, a roof over their heads, and the other basic necessities of life."
"It is morally reprehensible that we live in the wealthiest nation in the world where one in six people are struggling to make choices between food and other basic necessities," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. "These are choices that no one should have to make, but particularly households with children. Insufficient nutrition has adverse effects on the physical, behavioral and mental health, and academic performance of children. It is critical that we ensure that no child goes to bed hungry in America as they truly are our engine of economic growth and future vitality."
The methodology incorporated into the 2010 study includes data collected from February through June, 2009. The Vermont Foodbank conducted face-to-face interviews with300 people seeking emergency food at food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs, as well as interviews with more than 250 agencies that provide food assistance.
Nationally, Feeding America collected quantitative and qualitative feedback from 61,000 face-to-face in-depth interviews with people seeking emergency food assistance and more than 37,000 agency surveys, making this study the largest, most-comprehensive ever conducted on domestic hunger.
USDA reported in November 2009 that an estimated 49 million people, including 17 million children, are at risk of hunger in this country. Hunger In America 2010 reinforces the dramatically increasing need for food assistance in the United States.
Among the key findings in the Vermont Foodbank report:
- 42% of clients served by the Vermont Foodbank report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.
- Nearly 40% of households include at least one employed adult.
- More than 60% of client households reported receiving 3SquaresVT (formerly Food Stamps) benefits.
- 33% of people served by the Vermont Foodbank are children under the age of 18 years old.
- While many of our neighbors who access the emergency food system have access to VHAP and Medicare, nearly 60% report having unpaid medical or hospital bills.
A summary of the findings is available at http://www.vtfoodbank.org/. The full national report is available on Feeding America's web site at Hunger in America 2010.
About the Vermont Foodbank
Vermont Foodbank is the state's largest hunger-relief organization, serving communities in all 14 counties of Vermont through a network of more than 280 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers and after-school programs. In FY2009, the Vermont Foodbank distributed nearly 7.5 million pounds of food to as many as 86,000 Vermonters. The Vermont Foodbank, a member of Feeding America, is nationally recognized as one of the most effective and efficient nonprofits and food banks in the nation. For learn more about hunger in your community and to take action again hunger and poverty in Vermont, visit us on the web at http://www.vtfoodbank.org/
About Feeding America
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,068 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. Feeding America is based in Chicago. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org/. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Feedingamerica.
