L.A. County leads U.S. in hunger study

More than 1.7 million Los Angeles County residents struggled with hunger in 2009, more than in any other county in America, according to new research published by Feeding America, the country’s largest network of food banks.

The study, called Map the Meal Gap, uses statistics collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Census Bureau and other agencies to profile food insecurity across America.

“It’s hard to imagine in a nation that grows much of the world’s food that people cannot always afford to feed themselves or their kids,” said Vicki Escarra, Feeding America’s president and chief executive.

“But the fact is that domestic hunger is a serious problem.”

The study found that there are people in every county who at times can’t provide enough food for an active and healthy life for every household member -- the USDA measure for food insecurity. Rates ranged from 5% in Steel County, S.D. to 38% in Wilcox County, Ala.

At nearly 17%, the rate in Los Angeles was about the same as the national average. But in nearby Imperial County, it climbed to more than 31%.

“Hunger is closer than one might think,” Escarra said at a news conference Thursday in Washington, D.C., to announce the findings.

Matthew Sharp, a senior advocate with California Food Policy Advocates, attributed the high number of food insecure Angelenos to “the extraordinary cost of living and low wages.” Unemployment remains high in California and those returning to the workforce often find that they can’t get the hours or salaries they need.

The study found that many of those at risk of hunger don’t qualify for federal nutrition benefits, including about a third of the more than 6 million food insecure Californians in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.

More than half of these Californians did not meet the income requirements for food stamps -- known locally as CalFresh -- and an estimated 33% did not qualify for other programs such as free or reduced-price school meals. Eligibility for these programs is linked to the federal poverty level, which advocates of low-income families have long argued is a poor measure of what it takes to make ends meet.

To qualify for food stamps, for example, households cannot earn more than 130% of the poverty level. That was $28,655 a year for a family of four in 2009, the most recent year for which food insecurity data is available. The maximum threshold for most other nutrition programs is 185% of the poverty level, then $40,793 a year for a family of four.

Previous studies only provided state-level food insecurity estimates, which researchers said were too broad to help local organizations address the need in their communities.

In counties like Imperial, Kern and Tulare, the study found that more than 60% of those at risk of hunger could be eligible for food stamps. Such areas might benefit from more outreach about federal nutrition programs, the study said.

While the food stamp rolls have been increasing in California, participation in the program has been among the lowest in the nation. Just half of the eligible Californians received the benefit in 2008, the most recent year for which federal estimates are available.

In counties with a higher proportion of food insecure people who are not eligible for government assistance, the burden to help often falls on family members and local charities.

The number of people fed by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank increased from about 674,000 in 2006 to more than 1 million last year, said the group’s president and chief executive, Michael Flood.

Although the food bank has been able to increase the volume of food it provides to food pantries, soup kitchens and other programs, supply has not kept pace with demand. Some have had to turn people away empty-handed, Flood said.

-- Alexandra Zavis

Map: Rate of hunger in each state. Source: Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap project

Comments

[Marquis]

Are we sure that everyone going to the food banks in LA county is in the country LEGALLY ?

i mean they already use the E.R do they not ? and the schools ? and if they have anchor babies they sign up for welfare .... plus didn't we just pass the dream act in cali allowing them to get instate tution ?

If your an american and you need the help of a food bank , well i feel sorry for you that your going to have to get in line behind people who shouldn't even be here ..... means less food for you .

[Brady Westwater]

In the history of statistics - no group has ever managed to lie more outrageously than the 'food insecurity' - and yet the press refuses to ever challenge them on their blatant dishonesty.

Using their 'facts' - even if not one person in this country ever went hungry for a full day - or if even not even one person missed even one meal for one entire year - there would still be 'food insecurity' crisis in this country.

[Sue]

When will our leaders admit that high poverty creates havoc in our schools? When educators bring this up, the politicians and philanthropists like to say that we are using that as an excuse. On the other hand, in what is called "promise neighborhoods", all kinds of resources are poured in. So, please explain how money doesn't matter? Do good teachers make a difference? Yes, they do, but so far researchers have only been able to attach 10% of the factors to teachers. So, other factors make up the other 90%. That makes educators having to fight an almost impossible uphill battle while taking all the hits from the public. As we are seeing in states like Wisconsin, the move to destroy collective bargaining and increase privatization is going to turn us into a third world country. The attacks on our education system and the push to privatize should stand as a warning of the direction that our country is headed.

[shadowpark]

And yet lets blame all the illegal immigrants who caused the economic collapse ,
it was the illegal immigrant who made the loans and then bundled them and sold them as triple a rated bonds.
I am so sick of hearing this blame talk lets get our money back from the real crooks on wall street like Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide Financial, Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products, Jimmy Cayne, former Bear Stearns boss and the rest of them Wake up we have middle class in danger of becoming extinct while these crooks get fat !!

[madsircool]

Yo, Sue....so called collective bargaining between public employee unions and the stooges they paid to get into office isnt really collective bargaining.

And nice try there trying to deflect the blame for poorly performing students away from teachers.

Teachers Unions that protect horrifically incompetent teachers are a massive part of the problem.

[steve rodriguez]

With all the money spent on services for the illegal aliens we have forgot to feed the hungry?

[J]

Looking at the comments, I am stunned by the level of vitriol and missing the point in which some people reside. Are the statistics sketchy? Maybe. The headline- that LA "leads" the nation in hunger- doesn't technically fit the body. True, more PEOPLE are dealing with hunger, but the population is incredibly high. When you look at the body of the article (not just the headline or the graph that actually mixes two colour schemes on the same statistic further muddying the facts), you find that LA county is about average in hunger proportionately.

Fine.

That isn't the point though is it? The real point- the real takeaway- is that we live in a country that has the highest agricultural production in the world and there is hunger PERIOD.

Reading some of the, frankly, ludicrous comments (that there would be "less food for you"? Really??) makes me wonder about the grip some people have on reality. I understand you want to make a political point and that you are emboldened by anonymity so you feel free to make racist comments that would get you punched in public (the real mark of online bravery and real life craven cowardice. Kudos on mastering it), but why bother when the logic is missing to the extent you utilize it here? Food is not some dwindling finite resource in the US. We supply the world. There is enough and would be if Mexico MOVED here and let Brazil come over for slumber parties. The problem is accessing the food financially.

The rate of unemployment here is staggering. So is the rate of wealth. That equation doesn't work. The wealthy in this country are not employing people anymore. Their reason appears to be that they aren't wealthy "ENOUGH". More tax cuts? Thanks, but I'm still not wealthy "enough". Cut social programmes. Still not wealthy "enough". Swollen salary when the rest of America has to tighten their belts to the point of starvation (even for a day in a country that can feed the world is ridiculous as a notion). Not "enough".

To compound this problem, we get people who are either "sock puppets" (internet term. Look it up if you don't know it) or just plain dupes for the very rich who will loudly make non-issues into the central focus in cases like this. Are they trolls? Maybe. Are they wishful "one day I'LL be really really rich and I wanna keep my money in a mattress" thinkers? Could be. The one thing they are DEFINITELY is missing the point and adding sheer noise and angry personal attack to a difficult situation. They are champions of simple solutions for complex problems. Adults need to start ignoring them because simple solutions DO NOT WORK on complex problems.

Knee jerk only jerks the knee. So here's a tip for the rest of us. Ignore the jerks and look at the problem.