U.N. studies show that the world already produces more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet and has the capacity to produce even more, and yet…
World hunger organizations estimate that nearly 1 BILLION people around the world are chronically hungry.
25,000 children die every day of hunger or diseases resulting from hunger.
Every six seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2004)
65 percent of the world’s hungry live in seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. (FAO, 2008)
36.2 million Americans, including 12.4 million children, are food insecure and at risk of hunger. (United States Department of Agriculture, 2007)
13 million children in the U.S. go to bed hungry. (Bread for the World, 2004)
In the U.S. hunger and race are related. 22.4% of Black and 17.8% of Latino households experience food insecurity over the course of the year, as compared to 8.1% of White households. (Children’s HealthWatch, formerly known as the Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program, 2007)
The U.S. Administration on Aging estimates that 1 out of 4 seniors in the U.S. has an inadequate diet.
Around the world the most vulnerable to hunger are: children, pregnant and nursing women, single mothers, the elderly, the homeless, the unemployed, ethnic and racial minorities, and the working poor.
This number varies depending on major events that affect people’s access to food, such as natural disasters, war, forced migration, environmental degradation, etc. as well as successful hunger-relief programs.
