HUNGER IN AMERICA

Last spring, the West Ohio Food Bank participated in a research study called Hunger in America. The study was conducted for America’s Second Harvest (A2H) by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Many staff and volunteers from food banks around the nation completed in-person interviews with more than 52,000 clients served by member charities in the A2H food bank network. More than 30,000 member charities (emergency pantries, kitchens, and shelters only; supplemental and after-school programs were not included) also completed questionnaires giving feedback on the food banks of which they are partners. The final report of this study was released by A2H in late February 2006.

The following are the findings pertaining specifically to the West Ohio Food Bank’s 11 county service area.

How many clients receive emergency food from the West Ohio Food Bank?

• The A2H system served by the West Ohio Food Bank provides food for an estimated 28,000 different people annually.
• Approximately 8,900 different people receive assistance in any given week.

Who receives emergency food assistance?

• 35% of the members of households served by the West Ohio Food Bank are children under 18 years old
• 11% of the members of households are children 0 to 5 years old
• 5% of the members of households are elderly
• About 86% of clients are non-hispanic white, 7% are non-hispanic black, 5% are hispanic, and the rest are from other racial or ethnic groups
• 50% of households include at least one employed adult
• 70% have incomes below the official federal poverty level

Many clients report having to choose between food and other necessities.

• 59% of clients served by the West Ohio Food Bank report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.
• 36% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage
• 34% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care

Do A2H clients also receive food assistance from the government?

• 44% of client households served by the West Ohio Food Bank are receiving Food Stamp Program benefits; however, it is likely that many more are eligible.
• Among households with school-age children, 54% participated in the federal school lunch program and 28% participate in the school breakfast program.

Many clients are in poor health.

• 28% of households served by the West Ohio Food Bank report having at least one household member in poor health.

Have agencies been experiencing changes in the need for their services?

• 65% of pantries, 59% of kitchens, and 61% of shelters of the West Ohio Food Bank reported that there had been an increase since 2001 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites.

Where do these agencies obtain their food?

• The West Ohio Food Bank is by far the single most important source of food for the agencies, accounting for 67% of the food used by pantries, 44% of kitchens’ food, and 56% of shelters’ food.

Impact of elimination of food bank.

• 46.4% of pantries, 29.2% of kitchens, and 51.1% of the shelters believed that the elimination of the food bank would have a devastating impact on their programs.
• Another 36.5% of the pantries, 30.1% of the kitchens, and 48.9% of the shelters believed that the eliminatio of the food bank would have a significant impact on their programs.