 Food security: access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.  Food insecurity: the lack of access at times to enough food for an active, healthy life; limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.  Low food security (formerly food insecure without hunger): reported reduction in quality, variety, or desirability of diet but little or no indication of reduced food intake.  Very low food security (formerly food insecure with hunger): reported reduction in food intake and disrupted eating patterns due to inadequate resources for food.  Hunger: the uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food; an individual level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. "A potential consequence of food insecurity that because of prolonged, involuntary lack of food, results in discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain that can go beyond the usual uneasy sensation.

49.1 million Americans lack the means to regularly put enough nutritious food on the table. They are food insecure and struggle with hunger.

What is “food insecure”?  Families struggling with hunger experience three or more symptoms of food insecurity during seven months of the year, on average.  Symptoms of food insecurity include running out of food without money to buy more, cutting portion sizes or skipping meals, and not feeding children in the family because there isn’t money for food.

 Low Food Security: People that fall into this category have had to make changes in the quality or the quantity of their food in order to deal with a limited budget.  Very Low Food Security: People that fall into this category have struggled with having enough food for the household, including cutting

Food insecurityFood insecurity exists in:  14.6% of all U.S. households  42.2% of all households at or below the poverty line  37.2% of all single-mom households

Who are food insecure families?  83.6% live in major metropolitan areas  67.7% live above the poverty line  52.1 % are white  48.7% (8.3 million) have kids under 18 There are 17.1 million food insecure families in the United States.

Food insecurity affects nearly 17 million children in America.  34% more than last year  48.7% live in married-couple families  41.9% live in single-mom families  41.2% live at or below the poverty line  40.3% live in the South  35.5% live in cities outside of major metro areas

Households Likely to Experience Food Insecurity  households with children (21.0 percent).  households with children headed by single women (37.2 percent) or single men (27.6 percent).  households with incomes below the poverty line (42.2 percent).  Black non-Hispanic households (25.7 percent) and Hispanic households (26.9 percent).  In 2008, 8.1 percent of households with seniors (2.3 million households).

ACCORDING TO THE USDA HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES 2008 REPORT, TEN STATES EXHIBITED STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT HIGHER HOUSEHOLD FOOD INSECURITY RATES THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE (12.2%): 1. MISSISSIPPI 17.4% 2. TEXAS 16.3% 3. ARKANSAS 15.9% 4. GEORGIA 14.2% 5. NEW MEXICO 14.1% 6. MISSOURI 14.0% 7. OKLAHOMA 14.0% 8. KANSAS 13.8% 9. MAINE 13.7% 10. NORTH CAROLINA 13.7%

 8 states plus the District of Columbia have 20 percent or more of children under 18 living in food insecure households;  Texas (22.1 percent) and Mississippi (21.5 percent) have the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food.

One in eight Americans (37 million people, including 14 million children and three million seniors) don't get enough to eat.

The Food Research and Action Center found that nearly one in five in the US percent -- report having gone hungry in the past year, up from 16.3 percent at the start of the previous year.

Households with children were even likelier to experience hunger, with nearly a quarter reporting hunger in the past year.

Food Banks and Soup Kitchens Last year, 4.1 PERCENT OF ALL U.S. HOUSEHOLDS (4.8 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS) ACCESSED EMERGENCY FOOD FROM A FOOD PANTRY ONE OR MORE TIMES. About 5.7 million Americans (or 1 in 50) get emergency food aid from the system in any given week.

The study, Hunger in America, found that 37 million people, or roughly one in eight US residents, received food aid last year. That's a 46% jump from a similar survey carried out in 2009.

The number of Americans in need of food aid has:  jumped 46 percent in three years,  including a 50 percent jump in the number of children needing food assistance, and a  64 percent increase in hunger in senior citizens' homes.

Who Goes to Food Banks?  38% are children under 18, compared to 36% in 2005;  8% are elderly, down from 10% in 2005;  about 40% are white; 34% black; 20% Hispanic; and the remainder from other racial groups;  36% of households include at least one employed adult, the same as in 2005;  71% of households have incomes below the federal poverty level during the month preceding the survey, up from 69% in 2005;  median monthly household income decreased by 7% from $825 to $770 in 2012.

Clients of Food Banks report having to choose between food and other necessities:  46% between food and paying for utilities, including heating oil;  39% between food and paying rent or mortgages;  34% between food and medical care, including drugs;  35% between food and public transportation; and  36% between food and gasoline for a car.

Despite the growing need, 70 percent of emergency food centers face threats to their survival.