Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 21

INTRODUCTION Setting a Goal and Developing a Plan In 2012, the last year that data are available, nearly 50 million people in the United States lived in households that struggled to put enough food on the table.1 The number of people stalked by hunger in the United States has soared since the Great Recession, the country’s worst economic downturn in three generations. Even before the recession, there were all too many people stalked by hunger in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Every year since the turn of the millennium, at least 20 million Americans (one in 10 households) have been worried about running out of food. Figure i.1 Trends in Food Insecurity in U.S. Households, 1995-2012 Percent of households 16 Food insecurity 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 Source: Calculated by USDA, Economic Research Service based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data. www.bread.org/institute? ? 2014 Hunger Report? 11 n