2015 Fact Sheet: The Far-Reaching Effects of Hunger
One in 10 Minnesotans, or more than 500,000
state residents, experience food insecurity on a
regular basis. i That is more people than attended
Minnesota Vikings home games during the 2014
regular season.
The Harvard School Breakfast Research Summary
found that lack of adequate nutrition can impair
a child’s ability to concentrate at school. When
kids get healthy breakfast, there is an average
increase of 17.5% on standardized math scores. vii
Forty percent of food is thrown out in the United
States every year, or about $165 billion worth. This
uneaten food could feed 25 million Americans.
In Minnesota each day 3,500 children are served
by food shelves.viii
More than 49 million Americans, including more
than 16 million children, live in households that
do not have consistent access to nutritious food.ii
That is the equivalent of the populations of
California and Ohio going hungry.
A grassroots food and fund drive, the Minnesota
FoodShare March Campaign is the only statewide
effort where every dollar donated goes directly to
food shelves to purchase food for the hungry.
In 2011, 900,000 vets (not including homeless
vets) relied on the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program to provide food for their
families.iii
Access to healthy food improves school
performance for children. Nine out of 10 K-8
public school teachers say eating a healthy
breakfast is the key to academic achievement and
3 out of 5 say they regularly see kids who come to
school hungry.iv
Of
the
Minnesota
households
receiving
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) benefits (formerly known as food stamps)
44 % have at least one employed adult residing
in the house.
Children who experience hunger get sick more
often, recover from illness slower and are
hospitalized more frequently than children who do
not. Children who experience hunger are more
likely to get headaches, stomachaches, colds and
ear infections and to experience fatigue.ix
In 2012, 8.6% of seniors in Minnesota reported
being threatened by hunger.x Senior hunger is
expected to rise as more Baby Boomers reach 60.xi
In 2014, Minnesota FoodShare partnered with
almost 300 foods shelves statewide to raise
more than $8 million and more than 4 million
pounds of food during the month of March,
ensuring that thousands of Minnesotans were fed.
USDA, 2013
Share Our Strength, 2013
iii Half in Ten, 2014
i
ii
During the 2013 Legislative session, a group of
Minnesota lawmakers challenged one another to try
to eat for a week on the average SNAP budget of
$1.29 per meal. Not one of them made it.
Almost 2/3 of households receiving SNAP have
household members who are elderly, disabled, or
under 18,v making consistent employment difficult
or unachievable.
There were more than 3 million visits to food
Minnesota food shelves in 2013.vi
For more info on Minnesota FoodShare, a program of the Greater
Minneapolis Council of Churches, visit
gmcc.org/minnesotafoodshare
iv Share Our Strength, 2013
v Hunger Solutions, 2013
vi
Hunger Solutions, 2014
vii Share Our Strength, 2013
viii Hunger Solutions, 2014
ix Share Our Strength 2013
x National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, 2013
xi Half in 10, 2014