Media Contact:
Jordan Baker jbaker@frac.org202-640-1118
Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
WASHINGTON, September 12, 2024 — FRAC is deeply concerned about the continually high rates of poverty, as unveiled by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The data reveal that the poverty rate in America reached 12.9 percent in 2023, up from 12.4 percent from the previous year.
According to the SPM data, in 2023:
- 42.8 million (12.9 percent) people lived in poverty, 1.9 million more than in 2022;
- 1 in 7 children (9.9 million) lived in poverty, 1 million more than in 2022; and
- poverty was notably higher in 2023 for Black individuals (18.5 percent), Latinx individuals (20.9 percent), and Native American and Alaska Native individuals (19 percent) compared to White, non-Hispanic individuals, whose poverty rate fell to 8.8 percent.
Poverty is the root cause of hunger and must be addressed to ensure that all people in the U.S. can access the food they need to thrive. Disparities in poverty rates are fueled by systemic racism and other forms of discrimination.
We know what works, and to address these issues, we must move bold policy solutions forward and further invest in the federal nutrition programs and anti-poverty programs, including making permanent an expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC).
The temporary expansion of the CTC during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced child poverty by 46 percent, improved food security, and helped address racial disparities. When it ended in 2022, poverty and food insecurity skyrocketed. Clearly, the ripple effect of the end of the CTC expansion continued through 2023, with the increased hunger rates, which were exacerbated by inflation. In January, the House overwhelmingly passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which would immediately lift an estimated 400,000 children above the poverty line. The Senate must continue in its effort to pass the legislation.
The federal nutrition programs played an important role in alleviating poverty, with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) lifting 3.4 million people out of poverty in 2023, school meals lifting 1.2 million people, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) lifting 203,000 people. To fully leverage these programs in the fight to end poverty, Congress must increase SNAP benefits; reinstate Healthy School Meals for All students, which helps stretch families’ household budgets; and prioritize WIC by fully funding it to serve all those eligible, continue modernization efforts, and support needed flexibilities and critically important WIC client services.
Ending poverty and hunger is possible. We just need political will.
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The Food Research & Action Center improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
