Who goes hungry?
Hunger can affect people from all walks of life. Many Americans are one job loss or medical crisis away from food insecurity – but some people, including children and seniors, may be at greater risk of hunger than others. Get the facts.
How do you measure hunger?
We all know what it’s like to feel hungry after skipping a meal. But how can you measure how hungry you are? Hunger is a feeling that can be different for everyone, but food insecurity actually measures the conditions that can lead to hunger.
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity describes a household’s inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is one way we can measure and assess the risk of hunger. In the United States currently, 1 in 9 people struggle with hunger.
What causes food insecurity?
One “bad month” can be enough to plunge a household into food insecurity. Lay-offs at work, unexpected car maintenance, or an accident on the job can suddenly force a family to choose between buying food and paying bills. Working families across America face countless situations that can result in food insecurity and hunger.
That’s why many working families, including thousands of households who don’t qualify for federal nutrition assistance, depend on their local food banks to help make ends meet during difficult times. The local food banks serve nearly every community in the United States, helping more than 40 million people — including 12 million children and 7 million seniors.
What are the effects of food insecurity?
Food insecurity can have a wide impact, depending on each individual’s circumstances. Some of the most common, yet complex, effects of food insecurity include:
- Serious health complications, especially when people facing hunger are forced to choose between spending money on food and medicine or medical care;
- Damage to a child’s ability to learn and grow; and
- Difficult decisions for seniors — often living on fixed incomes — such as choosing between paying for food and critical healthcare.
How can we end food insecurity?
Part of what makes food insecurity so difficult to solve is that the underlying causes — poverty, unemployment/under-employment, and inconsistent access to enough healthy food — are often deeply interconnected. Moving in and out of food insecurity simply adds more stress to a household that may already be wrestling with instability and unpredictability.
Together, we can provide the power to end hunger in America.
For more information on how you can join us in supporting the fight against hunger, visit our Support Us page now.
How Did COVID-19 Affect Nonprofits?
Overview
In early April 2020, Charity Navigator partnered with Reuters News to conduct a survey of nonprofits to assess the financial and programmatic impacts of COVID-19 on the nonprofit sector. Charity Navigator contacted 4,598 representatives of rated nonprofits, and we collected 298 unique responses.
The survey included twelve questions and covered immediate financial conditions, projected financial impact, financial reserves, impact on staffing, and impact on programs and services. Reuters News focused on social service organizations and published their findings on their website. The full data set includes respondents from 41 distinct cause areas.
Key Findings
Financial Hardship
83% of respondents reported they are suffering financially. Of those nonprofit organizations experiencing financial hardship, the average expected decline in revenue is 38% for the April – June time period.