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COMMENTARY OF THE DAY
By
Robert Namer
June 22, 2024
- Nearly 13% of U.S. households were food insecure in 2022, a new USDA report finds.
- These rates are “significantly higher” than the year before.
- Families are contending with the expiration of expanded nutrition benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. The numbers are much higher.
Share of U.S. households facing hunger is rising at an alarming pace. Nearly 13% of American households were food insecure in 2022. That means some 17 million families, or 1 in 8 U.S. households, struggled to meet their nutritional needs at some point in the year, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The prevalence was “significantly higher” in 2022 than in 2021, when 13.5 million households were food insecure, according to the USDA.
The department’s findings come from an annual survey of nearly 32,000 households conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce. “There is no excuse for anyone going hungry in America,” said Luis Guardia, president of the Food Research & Action Center. “Congress must act now to make substantial investments in anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs.”
“The unwinding of critical Covid-19 pandemic interventions has made it more difficult for millions of families to afford to put food on the table,” Guardia said. Those facing food insecurity are at more than double the risk of experiencing anxiety and depression, one study found. Food insecurity is also associated with a much higher likelihood of developing multiple chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Last year, the American College of Physicians said food insecurity had become a threat to public health in the U.S.
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