Friday, February 05, 2010
The Sub-Proletarianization of America (Part 8)
Among the key findings of the report:In the annual USDA survey on food insecurity, the number of Americans found to be food insecure in 2008 rose sharply to 49 million individuals (17.1 million households), a 36% increase over the prior year. The Hunger in America 2010 analysis reveals that Feeding America’s network of food banks and their partner agencies provide emergency hunger-relief services to an estimated 37 million low-income individuals (14.5 million households) in the United States annually. This represents an increase of 46% in unduplicated annual clients since the Hunger in America 2006 report. The 37 million annual client estimate falls within a 95% confidence interval ranging from 33.7 to 40.2 million unduplicated clients. Even if the true number falls at the lower end of the confidence interval, it still represents a substantial increase over 2005.
For the entire report, go here. As you might expect, it makes for pretty disturbing reading.Many of the client households served by Feeding America food banks report that their household incomes are inadequate to cover their basic household expenses.
--46 percent of client households served report having to choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and food.
--39 percent of client households said they had to choose between paying for rent or a mortgage and food.
--34 percent of client households report having to choose between paying for medical bills and food.
--35 percent of client households must choose between transportation and food.
One in four client households (24 percent) do not have health insurance and nearly half of our adult clients report that they have unpaid medical and hospital bills.
Thirty percent of households report having at least one member of their household in poor health.
Labels: American Empire, Food Crisis, Global Recession, Neoliberalism, Poverty, Sub-Proletarianization of America
