Washington, November 16: Official data shows almost 15 percent of US households experienced a food shortage at some point last year due to poverty and lack of financial resources.
That is equal to at least 17 million households, or roughly 50 million people, a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday.
The record high figure includes at least 17 million children.
The findings also revealed that about a fifth of the US population participated in at least one federal food-assistance program in 2009.
A staggering 34 million people classified as “food insecure” reported getting benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — formerly known as food stamps — in an average month last year.
Nearly 6 million households also said they received emergency food from a food pantry. The figure has doubled since 2007.
According to the USDA, hardest hit by hunger were African Americans and Hispanics.
Food security has steadily decreased in the United States since the economic downturn officially began in late 2007.
——–Agencies