WASHINGTON (September 4, 2024) The following is a statement from Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger, in response to the United States Department of Agriculture’s report “Household Food Security in the United States in 2023”
“This damning report shows that hunger in America is getting worse, not better. In 2023, rates of food insecurity across all households generally as well as households with children spiked to the highest levels in nearly a decade. Policymakers must take immediate and decisive action to reverse these deeply troubling trends.
It is unconscionable that factors such as race, ethnicity, and income determine who has enough to eat in America and who does not, but the data are clear: last year, food insecurity among Black and Hispanic Americans was more than twice as high as White Americans, and afflicted nearly 40% of people at or below the poverty threshold. These persistent disparities reflect the systemic economic and health inequities that continue to plague our country.
Reducing and eliminating hunger in America will not happen overnight, but the policies necessary to do so are not a mystery. Increasing benefits for programs such as SNAP and WIC, restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit, and free school meals for all children are the types of investments that members of our alliance and other advocates across the country are calling for to eliminate the scourge of hunger once and for all.
This report must be a wakeup call for every American. We urge policymakers to act now.”
