Facts & Figures
The reason why we provide food to the community is not simply a moral one. Scientific evidence suggests that hungry children are less likely to become productive citizens. A child who is unequipped to learn because of hunger and poverty is more likely to be poor as an adult. As such, the existence of childhood hunger in the United States threatens future American prosperity.
- 295,000 children are living in poverty in South Florida.
- Miami ranks 3rd among large cities in the U.S. with 35% of the population living in poverty.
- 42% of the children in the City of Miami live in homes with incomes below the poverty level.
- 59.8% of Miami-Dade County public school children were eligible for free or reduced cost lunches.
- Between 2000 and 2001, poverty rose to 11.7% of the population, or 32.9 million people, up from 11.3% and 31.6 million.
- The number of food insecure households with children has also risen since 2000 by 10,000 to 6.18 million.
- During the 2003 fiscal year, 16.4 million low-income children received free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, just over two million of these same income-eligible children participated in the Summer Food Service Program that same year.
- Poor children are at risk of nutrient deficiencies that can lead to serious health problems, including impaired cognitive development, growth failure, physical weakness, anemia, and stunting. Several of these problems can lead to irreparable damage to young children.
- In the last decade, hunger-relief agencies have found that the greatest increase in hungry Americans has been among the working poor. Despite the strong economy and their own hard work, they cannot always make ends meet. And increasingly, they are turning to charities and non-for-profit programs for hunger relief.
