Do you have a picture in your mind of what a hungry person looks like? If it is the stereotypical image of a homeless person in an inner city or a child in a third world country, you need to adjust that image. Hungry people also live in rural and suburban areas. They hold down jobs, own homes, and raise families. They might live in your neighborhood or work in your building.

• 1 in 8 Americans are food insecure; meaning their access to enough food is limited by a lack of money and other resources.
  
  
• Increases in the price of heating oil, gasoline and rents have resulted in record numbers of individuals and families seeking food assistance during the last year.
  
  
• Hunger is on the rise in Pennsylvania. Nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians, almost 10% of our population, live in households at risk for hunger. That’s enough people to fill Penn State University’s football stadium nearly 12 times.
  
  
• 18% of Pennsylvania children live in poverty.
  
  
• 46% of PA adults requesting food assistance are employed.
  
  
• Children who experience hunger and food insecurity are more likely to:
  
  • require special education
    
  • miss days of school
    
  • repeat a grade
    
  • be suspended from school
    
  • suffer health issues
    
    
• All Individuals who experience hunger and food insecurity are more likely to:
  
  • live in poor overall health
    
  • develop chronic illness
    
  • suffer from depression
    
  • experience psychosocial dysfunction
    
    
• Hunger depletes the strength of the working poor and perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

  References:
   - USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006
   - Hunger and Homelessness Survey, conducted by the United States Conference of Mayors, December 2007.
   - The Almanac of Hunger and Poverty in America, 2007.
   - Blueprint for a Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, Inter-Agency Council on Food and Nutrition, 2007.
   - USDA Briefing on Food Security, 2007.