Arkansas tops the nation in the percentage of families who frequently missed meals because of lack of money or access to food, according to 2012 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Wednesday, just before Congress is expected to debate the federal supplemental nutrition program for the second time this year.
The state ranked second, behind Mississippi, in the percentage of families who occasionally had trouble obtaining food for themselves, according to an annual report on food insecurity from the USDA Economic Research Service.
The report, based on U.S. Census Bureau surveys, noted that 17.6 million households nationally experienced “general food insecurity,” which indicates a person or household reported being hungry at least once during the previous 12 months, and 7 million households suffered “severe food insecurity,” meaning a person or household cited consistent hunger or lack of resources.
One in f ive Arkansas households experiences general hunger, according to the data, and 8.1 percent of those households experience extreme hunger, according to the report. There are roughly 1.12 million households in Arkansas.
The report showed Mississippi with 21 percent of its households in general hunger, while Missouri ranked second behind Arkansas in severe hunger at 7.6 percent.
Kathy Webb, executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that Arkansas has fared poorly in this survey in recent years but that the rankings underscore progress the state has made in alleviating hunger among children.
Webb said Arkansas used to be last or second-to-last in children’s hunger rankings but has improved in recent years to sixth-from-last because of programs that feed more students in schools and since working with Gov. Mike Beebe on the No Kid Hungry initiative. That initiative includes a burgeoning Cooking Matters class that teaches adults and children to cook healthy foods cheaply.
Unemployment and underemployment also have been contributing factors to hunger in Arkansas, Webb said.
“You’ve got to take the overall poverty level into consideration,” Webb said.
Arkansas Foodbank President Rhonda Sanders said the economy has played a big role in keeping Arkansas from improving.
“Arkansas always comes out of a recession last,” she said.
Both women said funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) would be critical in the discussion about hunger.
“If SNAP is cut, I think the issue gets worse before it gets better,” Webb said.
Currently, the program’s funding is included in the national Farm Bill, which is passed every five years. How much of the program’s funding should be continued has been a subject of debate among members of Congress.
About one-sixth of Arkansans - or 500,000 people -are on the nutritional assistance program.
Webb said reducing the program’s reach would place a greater burden on nonprofits that help feed the poor.
Getting more older Arkansans to apply for the program has been a goal for the Arkansas Department of Health’s Division of Aging and Adult Services because senior citizens comprise a large proportion of the hungry.
Director Krista Hughes said many senior citizens in Arkansas don’t want to sign up because of misconceptions they have about the program.
“A lot of seniors don’t want the welfare stigma,” Hughes said.
Poverty and access to food in rural communities are largely why senior citizens in Arkansas struggle with hunger, she said.
Arkansas senior citizens ranked first in the nation in hunger - one in four of them experienced hunger - according to 2011 data, and Hughes expressed concern about whether Arkansas will improve significantly in coming years.
“Short of additional funding … I don’t really know where it’s going,” Hughes said. “I think if you called them up, regions would say they’ve maxed out their fundraising capabilities.”
Arkansas Foodbank marketing and public relations director Tyler Lindsey said the Foodbank has had more donations with each passing year but that the need has not necessarily decreased. The agency, which distributed 16.5 million pounds of food last year, is on pace to distribute 18.6 millions pounds this year.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 09/05/2013