In the 18 southeast Texas counties served by the Houston Food Bank
• On a given day, 66,000 people in southeast Texas experience the pain of hunger and have no food: 5,000 are children.
•800,000 individuals receive food assistance each year through the Houston Food Bank's network of hunger relief charities.
•One in four children (25%) in southeast Texas is food insecure, or at risk of being hungry; overall, one in five people (18%) is food insecure.
The Face of Hunger:
•They're working: Two-thirds of food insecure families with children have at least one working adult.
•"Not homeless: 97% of people served by the Houston Food Bank have permanent housing.
•Seniors: 20% of people served by the Houston Food Bank are age 60 or older
Difficult Choices
Hungry families report they must often choose between paying for food and other necessities.
•Food vs. utilities - 72%
•Food vs. rent or mortgage - 60%
•Food vs. medical care - 74%
•Food vs. transportation - 70%
Coping Strategies
What do hungry families do if they don't have enough to eat?
•Purchase cheap, unhealthy food - 78%
•Water down food or drinks to make them last longer - 42%
•Get help from family and/or friends - 47%
Adapted from the Houston Food Bank Hunger Fact Sheet:
http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/hunger/researchresources/
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