Hunger  in America is a series of quadrennial studies that provide comprehensive demographic profiles of people seeking food  assistance through the charitable sector and an in-depth analysis of the  partner agencies in the Feeding America network that provide this assistance.  It is the largest study of its kind. The data collected through the Hunger in America studies help guide the  development of programs and solutions that improve food security for  individuals and their households and inform public policy and support for  solving hunger in America.

Hunger in America 2014 is the sixth and most comprehensive study  undertaken. The 2014 study reveals that each year, the Feeding America network  of food banks provides service to 46.5 million people in need across the United  States, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors. Through a network  of 58,000 pantries, meal service programs, and other charitable food programs,  the Feeding America network reaches people in need in every community across  the U.S.

Key Findings

One in seven Americans turns to the  Feeding America network for food assistance.

Feeding  America, through its network of 200 food banks and 58,000 feeding programs, provides  food assistance to 46.5 million people  in the U.S., including 12 million  children and 7 million seniors.

• Each week, the Feeding America network serves 5.4  million individuals.
• Thirty-nine percent of client households have a  child under age 18.
• One in three client households has a senior  household member 60 years or older.

Low wages, underemployment and unemployment  may drive need for food assistance.

• The median monthly household income of Feeding  America network clients is $927.
• More than half of client households (54%) report  at least one employed person at some point in the past year.
• Among households with an employed person, the  individual with the longest employment duration is more likely to be employed  part-time (57%) than full-time (43%).
• Nearly three-quarters of Feeding America  households (72%) live at or below the poverty line.

Many Feeding America clients are  educated beyond high school while many adult clients are currently enrolled in  school.

• Forty-one percent of households have a member with  more than a high school education.
• More than one in four adult clients have more  than a high school education.

For the first time, the Hunger in America  study asked about U.S military service.

• One in five (20%) of households served by the  Feeding America network has at least one member that has ever served in the military.
• Nearly 620,000 households (4 percent of  households served by the Feeding America network) have at least one member who is currently serving in the U.S. military Active Duty, Reserves or National Guard.

To learn more about Hunger in America 2014 military statistics, please see the memo entitled Hunger in America 2014: Military Service in Feeding America Client Households [pdf]

Feeding America’s client  population faces significant health challenges, including diabetes and high  blood pressure.

• 77 percent of client households with seniors  have a member(s) with high blood pressure, and nearly half (47 percent) have a  member(s) with diabetes. 
• 79 percent of client households report purchasing  the cheapest food available, even if they knew it wasn’t the healthiest option,  in an effort to provide enough food for their household.

Feeding America client households frequently face difficult decisions in an effort to ensure they have sufficient food.

• Client households often survive on limited budgets and are confronted with choices between paying for food and paying for other essentials. These dilemmas can put households in the position of choosing between competing necessities.

• In addition to charitable nutrition assistance programs and making spending tradeoffs, many households also engage in a number of other coping strategies in order to feed their families.

Feeding America network agencies and programs

• In a typical month, nearly 2 million volunteers  contribute more than 8.4 million hours of their time to food programs across  the Feeding America network. That’s more than 100 million hours of donated  labor across the Feeding America network over the course of a year.
• In addition to Feeding America’s core services  of food distribution, many agencies also operate non-food programs that provide  assistance in the form of clothing and furniture, legal aid, housing  assistance, and general referrals. Between both food and non-food programs,  nearly 100,000 are operated by agencies with 32% of agencies offering both  program types.