The USDA estimates that 41 million people, including nearly 13 million children, in the United States are food insecure. This means 1 in 8 individuals, and 1 in 6 children, live in households without consistent access to adequate food.

As a proud state known for taking care of our own, we can—and must—do better. The need is great, and our goal to eradicate hunger in our region is even greater. In counties served by the West Texas Food Bank there are over 48,000 food insecure individuals.

The West Texas Food Bank works to feed hungry families who are seeking food. Our service area is affected by high rates of hunger, poor nutrition, and related health problems. Of our clients, 74% have incomes below the federal poverty level, 40% are children under the age of 18, and 16% are elderly.

No one chooses to be hungry. Hunger can happen for several reasons, including:

• Rising costs of living and housing, especially for those who are disabled or on a fixed income —  A rising number of households report choosing between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage at least once in the past 12 months; roughly half face this choice every month.
• A family health crisis not covered by health insurance — Numerous households report choosing between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care at least once in the past 12 months; some of whom face this choice every month.
• Seniors unexpectedly raising grandchildren — Many Food Bank client households are headed by grandparents who have taken on the unexpected responsibility of raising their grandchildren.
• Untimely death of a family’s primary income-earner
• A single parent rearing their children after a broken marriage

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What is food insecurity and what does it look like in America?

Food insecurity refers to the USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. Food-insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. Food insecurity may reflect a household’s need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods.

To learn more about the health implications of food insecurity, Click Here.