No one deserves to be hungry.

This basic principle guides much of the work we do at Hoosier Hills Food Bank.  It's important to learn about the people we serve and how hunger affects their lives.  

The Hoosier Hills Food Bank:

Hunger is an income issue, an indicator of the growing disparity between income and expenses. 

National & State Information

Hunger in the United States

Despite our status as an advanced and industrialized nation with a high standard of living, hunger and food insecurity persist as significant problems in America, and have grown significantly during the recent economic recession.

Each year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issues a report, “Household Food Insecurity in the United States.”  The most recent report covers the calendar year 2009.  According to USDA, approximately 50.2 million Americans (16.6% or 1 in 6) are food insecure.  This includes 17.2 million children (23.2% or almost 1 in 4) and 2.2 million seniors (7.5%).  In 2010, a record 42.3 million people depended on the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps).

Every four years, our partner organization and the national food bank network, Feeding America conducts a comprehensive hunger study, “Hunger in America.”  The 2010 HIA report noted that 37 million Americans relied on the emergency food assistance network for support…an increase of 46% over the previous study in 2006.

(Hunger Study 2010)

Hunger in the State of Indiana

Hoosiers are not immune to hunger and food insecurity.  The USDA’s report indicates that 12.3 % of Indiana residents are food insecure.

www.feedingindianashungry.org

World Hunger

Hunger and malnutrition are global problems.  It’s estimated that over 900 million people go hungry and that almost 16,000 children die each day from hunger-related causes.  Poverty, economic and agricultural policies, conflict, climate change, and natural disasters are all considered contributing causes to world hunger.  Many organizations provide information or are working to end global hunger.

Links

One of Hoosier Hills Food Bank’s goals is to educate the community about hunger issues in order to encourage action and advocacy.  There are many organizations working to end hunger and we will provide links to many of them here in order to facilitate the flow of information.  This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of hunger-related resources, or an endorsement of any information source or program over another.

Two terms are important and several of the sites that we will link to include definitions of these and other concepts.  “Hunger” is generally defined as an uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food.  “Food insecurity” is generally defined as a lack of regular access to nutritious food.  Many organizations use these terms interchangeably, including HHFB. 

Partner Agency Links

Other Indiana Food Banks

Local Hunger & Poverty Links

- Monroe county info about social services available

National Hunger & Poverty Links