Texas ranks second nationally in food insecurity

Texas Hunger Initiative

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AUSTIN—Texas has the second-highest rate of hunger in the nation, the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced Sept. 7. And according to a new report sponsored in part by the Texas Hunger Initiative , hunger even exists in some of the state’s wealthiest counties.

According to USDA, 18.8 percent of Texas households, or one in five were at risk of hunger between 2008 and 2010.

Coming on the heels of the announcement, the Texas Food Bank Network, the Texas Hunger Initiative and First Choice Power released “Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas.”

The 508-page report includes a scorecard for each of the 254 counties in Texas, as well as recommended resources for funding and programs to fight at a local, statewide and national level.

“Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas” incorporates the newest national data on hunger made available by Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks, along with U.S. Census data and statewide data on usage of federal and state programs.

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Baptist Global Relief

“As Texans read this report, they will learn some startling facts about the size of the hunger problem in their state, which currently ranks second-worst in the nation when it comes to hunger," said Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a partnership involving the Baylor University School of Social Work’s Center for Family and Community Ministries and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission .

“They also may be surprised to learn the extent of the hunger problems in their own back yards.”

In Harris County, where Houston is located, 18 percent of the people are food insecure. In Hidalgo County, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, the number is 24 percent.

Even Montgomery County, home to The Woodlands and some of the state’s most affluent ZIP codes, has a food insecurity rate of 15 percent, meaning one in seven residents is at risk of hunger.


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For more information and to view each county’s hunger scorecard, visit www.firstchoicepower.com/HungerGapReport .


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