PHOENIX, ARIZONA: In Arizona, 329,000 households (13.2%) struggled with hunger during 2006-2008, the 14th highest rate in the country, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). While that number represents an almost 12% decrease from ten years ago, it’s an 8% increase from five years ago. Most alarmingly, the number of households living in very low food security, defined as frequent cutting back or skipping meals based on survey results from the report, increased more than 51% in the last five years.

"These troubling numbers show just how many people do not have regular access to food in Arizona," said Ginny Hildebrand, president and CEO of the Association of Arizona Food Banks (AAFB). "When you then consider the report uses numbers from 2008, and since then we’ve seen unemployment increase and the economy stagnate, it is very likely there are more food insecure households than this report states."

It is important to note the timing of the report fails to tell the whole story, since the numbers do not take in account the recession's continued impacts in 2009. In Arizona, the numbers are almost undoubtedly worse, as the USDA uses three-year averages to compensate for limited sample sizes. As a result, the state data is an average for 2006-2008, missing much of the recession’s most recent local impact.

Nationwide, the report shows more than 49.1 million people lived in food insecure households in 2008, up from 36.2 million in 2007 and 33.2 million in 2000, and the highest number ever recorded by the USDA. More than 17 million are children under the age of 18. An amazing 37% of single-parent, female-headed households with children are food insecure. 2010 is a critical year for issues related to child hunger, as Congress will vote on extending and improving Child Nutrition Reauthorization bills to meet President Obama's goal of ending child hunger by 2015.

The USDA report also confirms what AAFB has previously stated, namely that child hunger remains a serious issue nationwide and within Arizona, where one in five children under age 18 struggle with food insecurity. While AAFB member food banks have kept pace with increased demand by distributing approximately 60% more food in 2009 than in 2008, best estimates show this only meets 62% of the present need.

"We are seeing more and more people seeking out assistance as the economy has worsened," said Cynthia Zwick, executive director of the Arizona Community Action Association. "The food bank network provides a great safety net for families and individuals in need, and many Arizona families are now utilizing SNAP (food stamps), which has seen a 41% increase in household enrollments from October 2008 to October 2009."

The USDA report is based on data the Census Bureau measures annually. Food insecurity is determined through a series of household survey questions about the ability to obtain enough food for an active, healthy life for all members. The full report can be found at . www.ers.usda.gov/features/householdfoodsecurity/.

Established in 1984, the Association of Arizona Food Banks is a private, non-profit organization serving five-member regional food bank warehouses (Community Food Bank, Desert Mission Food Bank, St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, United Food Bank, Yuma Community Food Bank) and a network of nearly 1,700 food pantries and agencies. As one of the first state associations in the nation, AAFB was instrumental in the development of a statewide gleaning project, and our advocacy efforts have brought about beneficial state and federal legislation for our member food banks and the people they serve. For more information, to find a food bank or pantry in your area, or to learn more about donation and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.azfoodbanks.org.

In its annual look at homelessness in 25 of America’s cities, a study released in mid-December by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 63% of cities surveyed reported an increase in homelessness due to the foreclosure crisis. Cities reported that increases are driven not by homeowners losing their homes but primarily by tenants being evicted from foreclosed units.

More than 80% of the cities surveyed for the hunger and homelessness study reported that their homeless population is higher this year than last, by an average of 12%. A lack of affordable housing was the most common response for the cause of family homelessness and trailed only substance abuse for contributing to homelessness among individuals and unaccompanied youth.

Illustrating the shift from a reliance on shelters to an emphasis on rapid re-housing, 71% of the cities surveyed include a Housing First component in their plan to end homelessness, and the number of permanent supportive housing beds added in the last year (4,677) surpassed the number of new beds added to short-term and transitional shelters (3,802) in these cities.

In the section on hunger, the report states that requests for food assistance went up in 95% of the cities surveyed, by an average of 18%. Requests from first-time clients were higher in every city. Recognizing the way in which high housing costs can leave less in the monthly budget for other essentials, more than three-quarters of respondents (77%) suggested that the best way to combat hunger was to provide more affordable housing, followed by providing more food stamps (55%) and utility assistance (45%).

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey is available at www.usmayors.org/pressreleases/documents/hungerhomelessnessreport_121208.pdf.