"Hunger Crisis Getting Worse! 1 In 3 US Families
Don't Have Enough Food To Put On The Table"
by Epic Economist
"Kitchen tables across America are the clearest picture of the damages brought by the economic collapse. As the sanitary outbreak lingers, millions upon millions are fighting against the hunger crisis. In recent times, demand for food banks has spiked so high that projections already show pantries won't have enough to feed everyone. Food insecurity levels are surging for several different groups and no one is really immune - from children to college students to the middle class, and many others.
At the same time, while the World Food Program was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its fight against hunger, recent U.S. data points out that tighter crop supplies could aggravate even more the food-inequality crisis that’s expanding around the globe. For that reason, we decided to gather the most recent figures that can translate the reality no one wants to show us: the rising famine emerging amongst American families. Today, we are going to analyze the U.S. hunger crisis by the numbers, exposing this harsh situation that has been growing by the day. So stay with us, don't forget to give this video a thumbs up, share it with friends, and subscribe to our channel not to miss the next chapters of the 21st-century economic depression.
Before all of this meltdown has started, rates for American families facing food insecurity had been gradually declining. Right now, the number of groups who are lacking consistent access to enough food is skyrocketing. As the economic downturn and a second wave of viral cases have been severely disturbing people's prospects to resume their lives, new estimates present some of the worst rates of hunger spikes in America in decades.
This crisis has been challenging families, communities, and the social safety net in a very disconcerting manner. However, since last year a significant amount of U.S. households were already experiencing food insecurity, and this year's economic disaster has just made the situation much worse. In 2019, approximately 13.7 million households, or 10.5% of all U.S. households, undergone food insecurity at some point. That accounts for over 35 million Americans who were either unable to purchase enough food to meet their needs or unsure of where their next meal would come from, reported the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
From those 35 million, over a third had limited access to food to the point of having their eating patterns critically impacted and their food intake was reduced. The other two-thirds managed to obtain enough food but had to survive on less varied diets or use the help of food assistance programs.
This year, on the other hand, the number of food-insecure groups more than doubled, hitting as many as 23% of all U.S. households, roughly 1 in every 4 families were affected as a result of the economic havoc that has been pushing millions out of their jobs, according to one estimate by researchers at Northwestern University. Even more concerningly, 1 in every 3 families with children is coping with food insecurity - which is double the rate since 2018, and a higher proportion than at the peak of the Great Recession, according to a new analysis from The Hamilton Project. During "regular" times, households with children were almost 1.5 times more likely to face food insecurity than households without children, USDA data pointed out.
Tragically, the food insecurity issue is hardly unique to the U.S. In a recent assessment, Bloomberg estimated that over "132 million more people globally might fall into the grip of hunger this year, including in many places that used to have relative stability". The projections are related to the USDA announcement that says world soybean stockpiles will be smaller than expected amid the growing competition over global wheat shipments, while dry weather is becoming a threat to crops in parts of South America and Europe. All things considered, global food prices are forecasted to keep climbing, as result, adequate nutrition will become even more expensive as millions are still being pushed out of work and the economic downfall deepens.
In conclusion, the UN's chief economist, Arif Husain signaled this crisis as "a hammer blow for millions more who can only eat if they earn a wage. Lockdowns and global economic recession have already decimated their nest eggs. It only takes one more shock to push them over the edge". All the factors are mounting together and leaving many with the worrying question: Has the sanitary outbreak unleashed not only a public health and economic crisis but also a humanitarian one? That's what we are going to find out on the next unfoldings of the global economic catastrophe. So keep tuned with our channel, and we see you on the next one!"
