• Hunger Data
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  • Hunger among Black Americans
• Food Hardship
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• Cost of Food
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Hunger among Black Americans

Food Insecurity Statistics for Black Households

One in four (25.1 percent) Black non-Hispanic households experienced food insecurity in 2010, a significantly higher rate than the national average (14.5 percent). Among Black households, 16.0 percent faced low food security and 9.1 percent faced very low food security, the most severe incidence of food insecurity. ^1,2

The rate of food insecurity among Black households with incomes below 130 percent of the federal poverty level in 2010 was 44.0 percent. Among low-income Black households, 27.5 percent of households faced low food security and 16.5 percent faced very low food security. ³

Nearly one-third (32.9 percent) of Black households with children faced food insecurity, a much higher rate than the national average of 20.2 percent. ⁴

Black households comprised 22 percent of all households participating in SNAP (FY 2010). ^5,6

Food Hardship for Families in Congressional Black Caucus Districts

Analysis of Gallup data by FRAC for 2008 through 2010 (pdf) found that “food hardship” rates for families with children in 39 of the 42 Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) districts, for which data was available, topped the national average of 23.4 percent. CBC districts account for seven of the 10 congressional districts with the highest food hardship rates among families with children (ranging from 38 percent to 50.4 percent, the highest in the nation). ⁷

¹ “Food insecurity” means that a household’s access to adequate food is limited by lack of money and other resources. This standard is employed by the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and the rates are calculated on an annual basis. The report Household Food Security in the United States, 2010 includes analysis on the intersection of food insecurity and specific demographic characteristics of households.

² Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Mark Nord, Margaret Andrews, and Steven Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. ERR-125, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Econ. Res. Serv. September 2011. www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR125/ERR125.pdf.

³ Coleman-Jensen.

⁴ Coleman-Jensen.

⁵ U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2010, by Esa Eslami, Kai Filion, and Mark Strayer. Project Officer, Jenny Genser. Alexandria, VA: 2011. www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/SNAP/FILES/Participation/2010Characteristics.pdf

⁶ The 2008 Farm Bill changed the official name of the program from the Food Stamp Program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Many still use “food stamps” to refer to the program. State names for the program vary from SNAP to Food Stamps to CalFresh to Nutrition Assistance to others.

⁷ “Food hardship” is a measurement based upon analysis of Gallup data conducted by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). It reflects the numbers of households answering “yes” to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy the food that you or your family needed?” Food hardship rates in congressional districts represented by Congressional Black Caucus members are included in the attached chart. The full food hardship report is available at http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/food-hardship-data/