Hunger Facts
and Figures
In our day-to-day lives, hunger is often hard to see, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Sadly, both in the United States and around the world, hunger is everywhere.
With the increased hardship children and families have faced since the outbreak of COVID-19, in 2021 it was estimated that as many as 1 in 6 children in the U.S. was food insecure — meaning that they didn’t always know how they would get their next meal.
IN THE UNITED STATES
16.8%
of children under 18 years
of age live in poverty.
Food Stamps
As of 2018, 10.7% of families in the U.S. relied on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to make ends meet. Nearly half of those households (46.8%) already live below the poverty line. And food stamps don’t go very far. According to data from the Food and Nutrition Service, average monthly household SNAP benefit in fiscal year 2018 was $251. That works out to just over $8 per day.
SNAP benefits can be used to buy groceries, seeds, and plants to grow food, but they cannot be used for vitamins, medicine, prepared or heated food, diapers, cleaning supplies, hygiene items, or toilet paper.
3 out of 4
students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches
under the National School Lunch Program.
25
%
of all public schools in 2017-2018
were high-poverty schools.
AROUND THE WORLD
1.2
BILLION
in developing countries live in extreme
poverty, existing on less than $1.90 U.S. per day.
1.1
BILLION
PEOPLE
in developing countries lack adequate access to water.
2.6
BILLION
PEOPLE
lack basic sanitation.
THAT'S OVER
820 MILLION
PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.
Malnutrition is the single largest
contributor to disease in the world.