#ElPerúQueQueremos

BBC news: cincuenta millones de estadounidenses sufrieron hambre el 2009

Publicado: 2010-11-18

mcclatchydc.com

----

More US households short of food

cincuenta millones de estadounidenses sufrieron hambre el 2009

Por Ivana Cardinale

Tomado de Aporrea

Información oficial muestra que casi el 15% de los hogares de EEUU experimentan una escasez de alimentos en algún momento debido a la pobreza y falta de recursos financieros.

Eso es equivalente a al menos 17 millones de hogares, o aproximadamente 50 millones de personas, indica un informe del Departamento de Agricultura de EEUU (USDA por sus siglas en inglés) el lunes.

La cifra récord incluye unos 17 millones de niños.

Los resultados también revelaron que cerca de un quinto de la población estadounidense participó en al menos un programa federal de asistencia de alimentos en el 2.009.

La asombrosa cifra de 34 millones de personas que clasificaron para “inseguridad alimentaria” reportó obtener beneficios del Programa de Asistencia de Nutrición Suplementaria (SNAP) - antiguamente conocido como cupones de alimentos - en un mes promedio el año pasado.

Cerca de 6 millones de hogares también afirmaron que recibieron alimentos de emergencia de un almacén de alimentos gratuitos. La cifra se ha duplicado desde el 2.007.

Según el USDA, los más afectados por el hambre son los negros y latinos.

La seguridad alimentaria ha disminuido de manera constante en EEUU desde que la recesión económica comenzó oficialmente a finales del 2.

http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2010/01/08/18/20100108_FOODSTAMPS.large.prod_affiliate.91.jpg

// <![CDATA[

/* -1 && userAgent.search("version/3.") > -1) &&

!(userAgent.search("windows") > -1 && userAgent.search("safari") > -1 && userAgent.search("version/4.") > -1) &&

userAgent.search("android") == -1)

{

bbc.fmtj.av.emp.loadProxyPlayer("emp-11762410-65925");

}else{

bbc.fmtj.av.emp.loadEmp("emp-11762410-65925");

}

});

/**/

// ]]>

Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government report has found.

 US authorities say that figure is the highest they have seen since they began collecting data in the 1990s, and a slight increase over 2008 levels.

 Single mothers are among the hardest hit: About 3.5 million said they were at times unable to put sufficient food on the table.

Hispanics and African Americans also suffer disproportionately.

The food security report is the result of an annual survey conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Households deemed "food insecure" experienced a period of inadequate food supply as a result of their economic situation, but did not necessarily remain without sufficient food for the entire year.

Although the number of food insecure households has risen sharply since the recession, the USDA says the growth rate has slowed, particularly toward the end of 2009.

The BBC's Katie Connolly, in Washington, says the results will be seen as somewhat surprising in a developed country that is also facing the problem of rising obesity rates.

Shielding children

Almost 60% of those experiencing food shortages were eligible for assistance to purchase food through a government food stamps program.

Since the recession, the Obama administration has expanded food stamp funding. In 2009, around 34 million Americans participated in food stamp programs each month.Among those categorized as having "very low food security" - that is, those who experience the most severe food shortages - 28% of adults said that there were times in 2009 when they did not eat for an entire day because they could not afford to buy food.

Ninety-seven percent reported either skipping a meal or cutting the size of their meal for the same reason.

The report says that children in low food security households are often shielded from such behaviour by adults.

Recession-proof poverty

The prevalence of food insecurity has placed increased pressure on soup kitchens and community organizations to provide for the poor.But Jeannine Sanford, the Deputy Director for Washington DC food pantry Bread For The City, warned against assuming that the problem of hunger would be alleviated when the recession ends because there are some groups whose conditions are virtually unaffected by the bad economy.

Related stories

Index shows global hunger growing

Mayor puts Oklahoma City on diet

One in seven 'in poverty in US'

“Start Quote

The nature of receiving disability (welfare) is that the person is permanently disabled. It's not like the economy changes and that changes for them. They're still going to be trying to struggle on a really limited amount of income.”

End Quote Jeannine Sanford Deputy Director, Bread for the City

With its plethora of government jobs, Washington DC has not been as badly hit by the recession as other cities. Still, its soup kitchens and community organizations are struggling to keep up with demand - as they have been for some time.Washington has long had a relatively large population of underprivileged people in need of assistance.

Ms Sanford says that the number of hungry people seeking help obtaining food has not changed much during the recession. Most of the people who come to her organization are the elderly, the disabled or those in minimum wage jobs who live well below the poverty line.

These people tend to live on fixed incomes, and have little hope of their income improving when the economy rebounds.

There were poor people in DC before the recession, and they will still be poor and need help when it is over, she says.

"The nature of receiving disability (welfare) is that the person is permanently disabled," Ms Sanford told the BBC. "It's not like the economy changes and that changes for them. They're still going to be trying to struggle on a really limited amount of income."

Click to play

Advertisement

//

// Jeannine Sanford explains why some of Washington's poorest residents are not particularly affected by the recession.

Continue reading the main story

BBC News - More US households short of food 15 Nov 2010 ... Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, with single mothers hardest hit, a government report finds.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11761970 - En caché

 

More US households short of food 16 Nov 2010 ... BBC | Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government report has found.

www.infowars.com/more-us-households-short-of-food/ -

 

More US households short of food | Citizens for Legitimate Government 16 Nov 2010 ... More US households short of food 15 Nov 2010 Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government ...

www.legitgov.org/More-US-households-short-food -

 

More US households short of food (Dems controlled Congre$$ since ... 34 entradas - 20 autores - Última entrada: hace 2 días

Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point ..... “single mother” means “single b/c I care more about me than my ...www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2627779/posts -

More US households short of food - Democratic Underground More US households short of food. ... Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government report has ...www.democraticunderground.com/.../duboard.php?az... - En caché

 

----


Escrito por

malcolmallison

Biólogo desde hace más de treinta años, desde la época en que aún los biólogos no eran empleados de los abogados ambientalistas. Actualmente preocupado ...alarmado en realidad, por el LESIVO TRATADO DE (DES)INTEGRACIÓN ENERGÉTICA CON BRASIL ... que a casi ning


Publicado en

malcolmallison

Just another Lamula.pe weblog