Things that Might Surprise you About Hunger
The Many Faces of Hunger
Grocery costs over the decades.
The video below illustrates the shocking price hikes in a light-hearted way.
FAQs about food insecurity
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity is not having the food needed to live an active, healthy life. It’s not always knowing where the next meal could come from and making budget or lifestyle sacrifices to survive.
In other words, food insecurity is simply having uncertainty about having enough food to stay healthy. This could be because there isn’t enough money to get food, you don’t have the ability to obtain food (access), or you don’t have consistent resources to have food all the time.
Many are surprised to learn that people who work full time, have formal educations, and have a stable place to live can still experience food insecurity.
Why do people experience food insecurity?
Food insecurity is not a personal failing. It’s a symptom of larger economic and systemic failures that must be addressed through congressional advocacy.
The top three cited reasons for food insecurity, based on a recent Feeding America report are:
- Rising food costs
- Insufficient income
- The high cost of rent or buying a home
At the Food Bank for Larimer County, our clients are as diverse as the community. They’re working parents; older adults who’ve put decades into the working world and now live on a fixed income; and working college students. The overwhelming message that we hear from them is that dollars simply aren’t stretching as far as they used to because of high living costs.
Further underscoring this is another Feeding America report, which notes a spike in food insecurity in 2022, “amidst historically high food prices and the expiration of many pandemic-era programs.”
To be food secure, the report says, people need more money now than they have in last 20 years.
Read more: Elevating Voices: Insights Report
You might have experienced food insecurity if...
Remember, even though the two are usually related, experiencing food insecurity is not the same as living in poverty. Below are some common – and surprising – examples of food insecurity:
- After you pay your bills, you don’t have enough money to buy enough food until you get paid again.
- You are a parent or caregiver who feeds the kids and only eat if there is food left after they have full bellies.
- The kids in your household skip lunch when there isn’t school.
- You have no way to physically go shopping, so your food access is dependent on another person’s schedule or ability to assist you.
- Now that you’re a older adult and rely on a fixed income, medical expenses are so high that the money left over the food you need.
- Even though you’ve chosen one of lower priced rentals in Northern Colorado AND live with roommates, your monthly rent is such a signifcant part of your income, you have to significantly limit what you spend on food and often run out of money before you paid again.
- You don’t have a stable or consistent place or the items/appliances needed to MAKE and PREPARE food, even if you have the ability obtain it.
Is there a difference between the terms 'hunger' and 'food insecurity'? (hint: yes)
We use the term “food insecurity” on purpose. It is different from “hunger.”
What is hunger?
Hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. It is a physical feeling of discomfort or weakness that results from not consuming enough food. Hunger can become chronic if a person doesn’t regularly consume enough calories to live a healthy life.
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity is a socioeconomic and household-level condition where there is limited or uncertain access to enough safe and nutritious food. Food insecurity can be caused by a lack of food or a lack of resources to obtain food. Food insecurity—the condition assessed in the food security survey and represented in USDA food security reports—is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
Another way to understand the two terms is in the connection that food insecurity can lead to hunger, but hunger does not lead to food insecurity, it is a result of it.
The Food Experience Scale (FIES)
Food insecurity can be experienced at different levels of severity. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations measures food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) shown below:
Who are the people you're serving?
Food insecurity can be experienced by anyone. We serve people of all ages and backgrounds. The majority of those we serve are housed. Only about 7% of our clients are those experiencing homelessness.
Nationally, the majority of people who experience food insecurity have at least one member of their household who is employed. Services also aid retirees on fixed income, as well as those limited to the hours they can work, or unable to work at all due to a disability.
What are the demographics of those you serve?
The level of hunger in America is at its highest point in 10 years. In Colorado, 1 in 9 residents are food insecure and 1 in 7 children are food insecure. The Food Bank for Larimer County today provides hunger-relief to more than 50,000 people.
Food insecurity is an issue that isn’t always visible. It hides behind closed doors in the home of the working mom, who cuts meals to make sure her children can eat; the grandfather who stretches his food budget so that he can afford medications; and the school child who goes to bed hungry, dreaming of the school breakfast they get the next day.
Some data about our clients, as a group:
- 92% people have stable housing
- XX% represent households with children
- XX% are women
- More than half live in households with at least one working adult
Food insecurity is not a food shortage problem.
Believe it or not, the fact that so many people are going hungry isn’t because there isn’t enough food to go around. The world produces enough food to feed 1.5 times the planet’s population every year but the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that we waste about a third of all food produced—an estimated 2.3 trillion pounds gets tossed. That’s enough to feed three billion people —a heck of a lot more than are currently in dire need.
Luckily, the Food Bank for Larimer County saves lots of this food from being wasted. Last year, we rescued almost 9.4 million pounds of food that would have otherwise been thrown away.
Read more about our food rescue efforts here. And, read about a day in the life of one of our food rescue drivers here.
The number of people who are hungry is more than you think.
42 million food-insecure Americans translates to 1 in 8 people nationwide and 13 million of those are children. Ethnic minorities are among the most affected, with 1 in 5 black, 1 in 4 Native American, and 1 in 6 Latino Americans reporting food scarcity compared to just 1 in 12 white, non-Hispanic individuals.
In Larimer County, most recent data from Feeding America shows more than 11% of residents are food insecure. Last year, we served more than 50,000 people are food insecure, and 1,184 households applied for SNAP benefits.
Pre-pandemic, food insecurity was the lowest it had been in a long time; but it jumped back due to the many fallouts of the pandemic. These include—but are not limited to— school closures cutting kids off from the National School Lunch program, food supply chain issues, loss of employment, non-perishable food product hoarding, and more.
From the Feeding America report Elevating Voices:
- 93% of those facing food insecurity are concerned about high food prices.
- 78% of those surveyed say they’re just “getting by instead of thriving,” with food affordability worries connected to a sense of general financial unease.
- 78% of those surveyed made tradeoffs to afford food, including not buying essentials like clothing and shoes (58%), not paying bills (48%), and skipping medical appointments (32%).
Grocery prices have risen a lot in recent decades.
The video below illustrates these shocking price hikes in a light-hearted way we can all relate to.
