• Hunger Data
  • Hunger among Hispanic Americans
  • Hunger among Black Americans
• Food Hardship
• Food Access & Affordability
• National and State Program Data
• SNAP/Food Stamp Monthly Participation Data
  • SNAP and U-6 Participation
  • 2010 SNAP Data
  • 2009 SNAP Data
  • 2008 SNAP Data
  • 2007 SNAP Data
  • 2006 SNAP Data
  • 2005 SNAP Data
  • 2004 SNAP Data
  • 2003 SNAP Data
  • 2002 SNAP Data
  • 2001 SNAP Data
  • County-by-County Review of SNAP/Food Stamp Participation (NYTimes)
• Cost of Food
• Poverty Data
• Polling Data
• Nutrition Program State Participation Calculators
• FRAC E-pubs
• Publications

Food Hardship

Latest Report

August 2011 – Nearly One in Four of Nation’s Households with Children Report Inability to Afford Enough Food (pdf)
Report: Food Hardship in America: Households with and without Children
Analysis: Examines food hardship rates for households with and without children for the nation, states, 100 of the country’s largest MSAs, and every congressional district.

Click here for previous reports in this series…

FRAC’s food hardship analyses provide a unique up-to-date examination of how millions of American households in every part of the country are struggling with hunger. Data are available for the nation, every state, 100 of the country’s largest MSAs, and every congressional district.

A respondent is defined to have experienced food hardship if he or she answers yes to the following question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

FRAC’s analysis reveals that no community is free from hunger. According to the latest data:

• The annual rate of food hardship in 2010 was 18 percent, down slightly from the 2009 level of 18.3 percent. The rate peaked in 2008, increasing from 16.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 19.5 percent in the fourth quarter.
• Nationally in 2010, the food hardship rate for households without children was 14.9 percent, and it was 23.4 percent for families with children.
• In 177 of the 436 congressional districts (including the District of Columbia), one-fifth or more of all respondent households reported food hardship in the 2009-2010 period.

About the data

The food hardship question is being asked as part of a survey conducted by Gallup through the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, and provided to FRAC to be analyzed. Gallup is interviewing 1,000 households per day almost every day since January 2, 2008 for this project. More than one million people have been asked a series of questions on a range of topics including emotional health, physical health, healthy behavior, work environment and access to basic services.

Previous reports in this series:

(Links are to pdf files.)

Food Hardship in America: Data for the Nation, States, 100 MSAs, and Every Congressional District
Analysis: Adding regional data, this analysis is the second full review of food hardship data, updated through 2010. It examines food hardship rates for the nation, regions, states, 100 of the country’s largest MSAs, and every congressional district.
Released: March 2011

Food Hardship in America: State Data through June 2010
Analysis: Examines food hardship rates by state in the first half of 2010.
Released: December 2010

Food Hardship: Data for the Nation through September 2010
Analysis: Contains national food hardship data and trends for the first nine months of 2010 (January through September).
Released: November 2010

Food Hardship – Data for the Nation, States, 100 MSAs, and Every Congressional District
Analysis: First in the series, this analysis contains food hardship data for 2008 and 2009 for the nation, every state, 100 of the largest MSAs, and every congressional district. It also contains an examination of food hardship rates among households with and without children on the national and state level, as well as 50 of the largest MSAs.
Released: January 2010