How many people were hungry in the Nation?
That can’t be answered precisely from these data. About 7.8 million persons – 5.1 million adults and 2.7 million children – lived in households classified as food insecure with hunger. Not everyone in those households was hungry, however. Households are classified based on whether anyone in the household was hungry because of lack of resources. In this survey, it is not possible to ask separately about the experience of each person in the household. Most of the adults in these households were hungry at times during the year, but most of the children were not. Children – especially younger children – are usually protected from hunger until hunger among adults reaches quite severe levels. Work is underway to estimate the prevalence of hunger among children. Q5. Where do we get information about food insecurity and hunger in U.S. households? The statistics in this report are based on data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) – the same survey that provides data for the Nation’s monthl
