News & Tech

Are 49 million Americans hungry? Once the economy went into free fall one year ago in September, the US Government began handing out billions of dollars to large corporations deemed "too big" to fail. President Obama continued the Bush plan and added $800 million of taxpayer money. He claimed the bailout money he took to redistribute would "save or create" a whole bunch of jobs, and families would also benefit from the bailout, not just the corporations.

It appears it does a poor job for some families needing the basics. According to the Washington Post, "The number of Americans who lack dependable access to adequate food shot up last year to 49 million, the largest number since the government has been keeping track." That number includes 17 million children.


According to the annual Household Food Security in the United States report, which is issued by the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, "Mississippi tops the list of states with the highest level of food insecurity at 17.4 percent. Texas comes in second, with a food insecurity rate of 16.3 percent; Arkansas, 15.9 percent, Georgia, 14.2 percent; and New Mexico, 14.1 percent."

WaPo has more, including the note that people are using food banks more and more to feed their families. The report adds, "Last year, people in 4.8 million households used private food pantries, compared with 3.9 million in 2007, while people in about 625,000 households resorted to soup kitchens, nearly 90,000 more than the year before.