NEWS RELEASE
New Study Reveals an Unprecedented Number Seeking
Emergency Food Assistance in Central & Eastern North Carolina
FEBRUARY 3, 2010 --- A new study released yesterday by the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC) and Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that more than 545,000 people receive emergency food each year through the FBCENC and its network of partner agencies, with 29 percent being children under 18 years old. The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a 30-year-old non-profit organization that distributes food to those at risk of hunger in its 34-county service area. Its administrative offices and warehouse is located in Raleigh, NC, and branch warehouses are located in Durham, Greenville, Southern Pines and Wilmington
OVERVIEW OF STUDY:
The Hunger in America 2010 report is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. The number of children and adults in need of food as a result of experiencing food insecurity has significantly increased.
The methodology incorporated into the 2010 study includes data collected from February through June, 2009. The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina conducted face-to-face interviews with 458 people seeking emergency food at food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs, as well as interviews with more than 543 agencies that provide food assistance.
Food insecurity is defined as “Limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” In central and eastern North Carolina more than 75 percent of client households interviewed are experiencing food insecurity—or hunger. This includes 35 percent experiencing very low food security.
An estimated 73,000 people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other agency served by the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
“We know that the average unemployment rate in our 34-county service area was at 11 percent by December 2009,” said Peter Werbicki, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. “We believe that this was reflected in the Hunger in America 2010 Study through the decrease in households with at least one working adult. In the 2006 study, 38 percent of homes in our service area had at least one working adult. In the 2010 report, that number has decreased to 30 percent.”
KEY FINDINGS:
Among the key findings in the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina report:
- 30 percent of client households have at least one adult working.
- 8 percent of members of households are elderly.
- 12 percent or households report a household with grandchildren.
- 33 percent of client households report they have to choose between paying their rent or mortgage and food.
- 40 percent of client households report they have to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heat.
- 37 percent report of client households report they have to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
- 8 percent of respondents reported being homeless.
NATIONAL HUNGER:
The USDA reported in November 2009 that an estimated 49 million people, including 17 million children, are at risk of hunger in this country. Hunger In America 2010 reinforces the dramatically increasing need for food assistance in the United States.
Hunger in America 2010 reports that more than 37 million people, one in eight Americans -- including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors -- receive emergency food each year through the nation’s network of food banks and the agencies they serve. More than one in three client households is experiencing very low food security—or hunger—a 54 percent increase in the number of households compared to four years ago.
Also on the national stage, an estimated 5.7 million people receive emergency food assistance each week from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other agency served by one of Feeding America’s more than 200 food banks, including the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. This is a 27 percent increase over numbers reported in Hunger in America 2006, which reported that 4.5 million people were served each week.
“These are choices that no one should have to make, but particularly households with children. Insufficient nutrition has adverse effects on the physical, behavioral and mental health, and academic performance of children,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “It is critical that we ensure that no child goes to bed hungry in America as they truly are our engine of economic growth and future vitality.
Nationally, Feeding America collected quantitative and qualitative feedback from 61,000 face-to-face in-depth interviews with people seeking emergency food assistance and more than 37,000 agency surveys, making this study the largest, most-comprehensive ever conducted on domestic hunger.
IMPORTANT LINKS:
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Christy L. Simmons
Manager of Public Relations
(919) 865-3050 (office)
(919) 906-4798 (mobile)
  
Fighting Hunger in 34 Counties... so no one goes hungry.
The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization that provides food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina. The Food Bank serves a network of 800 partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and programs for children and adults through warehouses in Durham, Greenville, Raleigh, the Sandhills (Southern Pines) and Wilmington.
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