About Hunger

In many ways, America is the land of plenty. But for 1 in 6 Americans, hunger is a reality. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country, or certain neighborhoods, but the reality is much different. Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger. We all know and are in contact with people affected by hunger, even though we might not be aware of it. These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days. Most of us simply have no idea. It’s time to educate ourselves about the causes of hunger in America.

• Currently nearly 1 in 3 children, 1 in 5 Arizonans, and 1 in 7 seniors in Arizona live in poverty.*

• Arizona’s hunger rates are higher than national averages: 17.8% of Arizonans are food insecure, compared to 15.9% nationally, and 28.2% of Arizonan children face hunger, compared to 21.6% nationally.

• Arizona ranks third in the country for high child food insecurity rates, behind only New Mexico and Mississippi, with 456,760 children facing hunger on a daily basis.

• 2 million Arizonans are considered working poor, living at or below the Federal Poverty Guideline. This is the majority of those served by the Food Bank’s emergency food box program.

• More than 40% of the households receiving emergency food assistance have at least one person who is working.