Hunger Awareness Day provides a national platform for all Americans to come together to realize that hunger is a very real public health issue for millions of Americans. Created in 2002, it is the goal of this year's events to raise awareness about the magnitude of hunger in the most industrialized nation in the world and encourage legislators to focus attention on solving the problem.
According to the Economic Research Service (ERS) which monitors hunger and food insecurity in the United States, approximately 11% or 35.1 million Americans experienced food insecurity at some point during 2005.
In Pennsylvania between 2003-2005, nearly 10% of Pennsylvania's households had experienced food insecurity during 2005, almost 3% had experienced the most severe form of food insecurity, formerly termed food insecure with hunger (now very-low food insecurity). Food stamps are a critical government program that help lift children and families out of poverty and hunger. According to Children's Sentinel Nutrition Program (C-SNAP) data, compared to children in households where food stamps remained stable, children who live in families where food stamp benefits have been cut or terminated are 80% more likely to be living in food insecure households, and more than 2 times more likely to experience child food insecurity.
While the state of Pennsylvania has several programs that attempt to feed the hungry, more needs to be done. National Hunger Awareness Day is a way in which all of the anti-hunger advocates in Pennsylvania can join forces to show the true faces of hunger in the state, increase food stamp outreach, and inform policy decisions at a state level that impact the 480,000 food insecure Pennsylvanians.
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