Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 15

? EXECUTIVE SUMMARY high because the economic recovery from the Great Recession has been sluggish. When a household’s breadwinner is out of work or can’t find full-time work, everyone living under the same roof is put at risk of hunger. Child hunger is directly related to the poverty that results from parents being unemployed or underemployed. Food insecurity is more common among children than any other age group—affecting more than one in five children in our country. Food is a basic need, as are shelter, transportation to and from Figure ES.2 Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1959 work, care for children and elderly to 2012 family members, and medical Recession Percent expenses such as prescription 70% drugs and doctor’s visits. How much these cost are usually not 60% 55.1% negotiable. But food is one that can 50% be negotiated on a daily basis, with oneself and/or one’s family mem40% bers—by purchasing cheaper, less Black nutritious items, by cutting back on 30% portion sizes, or by skipping meals 27.2% 22.8% 25.6% altogether. This is how families 20% Hispanic (any race) in poverty cope: some members, Asian 16.1% generally the adults, endure spells 11.7% 10% 9.7% of hunger. Parents live with the 7.5% Non-Hispanic White constant stress of food running 0% 1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2012 out, of exhausting their wages and whatever assistance they can secure Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2013 Annual Social and before the end of the month. Economic Supplements. A strong recovery capped by a return to full employment would improve U.S. food security levels by 25 percent. The last time the economy was at full employment was in 2000, at which time the household food insecurity rate was 10.5 percent. That’s 28 percent lower than today’s 14.5 percent rate of food insecurity. Full employment by 2017 is possible if the president and Congress can overcome budget brinksmanship and agree on investments to spur faster job growth. The Federal Reserve manages the country’s monetary policy; it has a dual mandate of controlling inflation and promoting full employment. Since the start of the Great Recession, the Fed has prioritized full employment. As a new chair of the Federal Reserve succeeds Ben Bernanke in January 2014, she will need to use her influence to maintain the Fed’s focus on full employment. While children make In 2012, the poverty rate for African American children was 37.5 percent, for Hispanic children 33 percent, and for non-Hispanic 3 White children 12 percent. up roughly 24 percent of our total population, they comprise one third of the nation’s poor. 4 www.bread.org/institute? n 2014 Hunger Report? 5