The food security report released today tells a bad news, good news story,” says Storen.
This morning, the United States Department of Agriculture released their annual food insecurity numbers. The research shows that food insecurity last year was virtually unchanged from 2015, but it is continuing the downward trend since a high in 2011. Duke Storen, Senior Vice President with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, had this to say about the numbers:
“The food security report released today tells a bad news, good news story. The bad news is that 41 million people including 12.9 million children live in food insecure households, meaning that they struggle to consistently put healthy food on the table. The good news is that the nation continues to see a downward trend in food insecurity with the percentage of food insecure household falling from 14.9 percent in 2011 to 12.3 percent in 2016.
Federal nutrition programs play an important role in reducing food insecurity because they close the gap between families and children who have enough to eat and those who don’t, regardless of zip code, age, time of year or time of day. If Congress passes the proposed budget that slashes nutrition programs, food insecurity and hunger will rise in every state and in every community across the nation.”
Contacts:
Christy Felling at 202.320.4483 or cfelling@strength.org
ABOUT NO KID HUNGRY
No child should go hungry in America, but 1 in 5 kids will face hunger this year. Using proven, practical solutions, No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger today by ensuring that kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast, are able to get the nutrition they need during the summertime, and families learn the skills they need to shop and cook on a budget. When we all work together, we can make sure kids get the healthy food they need. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength.
ABOUT DUKE STOREN
Duke Storen serves as the Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Program Innovation and Partner Development for Share Our Strength and its No Kid Hungry campaign. He is a national social policy expert with extensive experience researching and managing the implementation of nutrition and anti-poverty programs. Before coming to Share Our Strength, Duke worked under two administrations at USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, leading efforts to improve program access, as well as managing the child nutrition programs. Residing in Fredericksburg, Va. with his wife and five children, Duke is actively engaged in coaching youth sports and volunteering in his local community.