End Hunger Network
Executive Summary of the Hunger in America Study2006
Hunger in the Greater Houston Area
 
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Did You Know... The Facts on Senior Hunger in America
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 According to the USDA, in 2002 only 27.7 percent of households with residents age 60 or older who were eligible to receive food stamps actually did. The low participation rates are attributed to both lack of information about the program and issues of personal pride about receiving government assistance.
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In 2000, monthly benefits for households that included people older than 60 averaged $59, compared to the $158 average for all food stamp households.
bullet Elderly individuals, accounting for approximately 18% of the population (aged 60 or older), account for roughly 30% of US health expenditures. Research suggests that insufficient nutrient intake accounts for a disproportionate amount of health care costs among low-income elderly individuals, unrelated to the aging process. The elderly that live in households with incomes below 130% of the federal poverty level tend to have lower nutrient intakes than other elderly households, thus exacerbating health concerns. Low income blacks, urbanities, and Southerners generally consumed less of important nutrients than other demographic categories of the elderly.
bullet  4 million elderly persons, or 10.1% of the elderly population, live in poverty.  An additional 6.5% are classified as near-poor (Poverty in the United States: 2001, U.S. Census Bureau).
bullet The elderly who live in low-income households (below 130% of the poverty level) tend to have lower nutrient intakes than those elderly in households with higher incomes (A National Survey of Nutritional Risk Among the Elderly, FRAC).
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  In fiscal year 2002, 1.6 million adults over the age of 60 participated in the Food Stamp Program (Characteristics of Food Stamp Households, Mathematica Policy Research).


More than 96 billion pounds of food are wasted in our country each year.

While that food goes to waste, 36.3 million Americans live in households that are considered to be food insecure—which means they may not know where they will get their next meal. More than 800,000 of these men, women, and children live in the greater Houston area.



Prolonged hunger or a diet of foods that are high in fat and sugar—generally the most affordable foods for low-income households—can have devastating consequences.

For children, hunger means

higher levels of anxiety, depression, and behavior problems;
inability to concentrate in school; and
stunted development, loss of muscle mass, and vulnerability to disease.

For adults, hunger means

little energy to find better paying jobs or learn new working skills;
greater risk of anemia, heart disease, cancer, hypertension, and stroke;
the exacerbation of preexisting health conditions; and
limited efficacy of prescription drugs.


The state of Texas leads the nation in the percent of its citizens that are food insecure (16.4%) - Mississippi is second at 14.1%.

Contact
End Hunger Network • P.O. Box 571326 • Houston, Texas • 77257-1326
(713) 532-3663