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Informational Resources
Resources: assistance and eligibility information
http://oregonfoodbank.org/ofb_services/statewide_services/
http://www.oregonhelps.org/
December 2, 04 News Release from the JCPA
Food Security in the United States
Since 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been using data from surveys on food security conducted annually by the Census Bureau to estimate the number of households in the U.S. that are food insecure. The survey has been determined as a reliable indicator of household well-being and is used to evaluate the government’s progress in reducing food insecurity. In 1995 only 88 percent of U.S. households were considered food secure. The Surgeon General made increasing food security from 88 percent to 94 percent one of the nation’s health objectives for the year 2010. (continued article)
Fall 2004 Information
Profile of Hunger in Oregon Fall 2004
Annual statistical report of the Oregon Foodbank Network
Links to Poverty Information Tours
Poverty USA link
http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm
Central Oregon Partnership Poverty Tour
http://www.copartnership.org/toughchoices.php?tab=bend
Summary of findings from OSU Hunger Study - 11/20/03
Oregon State University researchers Mark Edwards and Bruce Weber spent the past six months delving into the USDA Current Population Survey (CPS) hunger and food insecurity data (the same data that places Oregon near the top of states in hunger) to determine what populations were most impacted by hunger and food insecurity in Oregon. Their in-depth data analysis (comparing Oregon to other states on a number of variables) and comparison to labor data confirm that Oregon families experience more hunger and food insecurity than in other states.
Specifically, Edwards and Weber found that three populations stand out as having significantly higher hunger rates compared to the same populations in other states:
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Households with no unemployed adults (double-income households)
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Households with at least one full-time worker
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Two-adult families with children
According to the study’s results, working Oregonians in two-income households have a hunger rate almost four times higher than those in the rest of the nation (3.9 percent in Oregon as compared to 1 percent nationally). Two-parent households with children have hunger rates more than three times higher than the national average (with 7.3 percent in Oregon as compared to 2 percent nationally).
Also, in Oregon, a smaller share of households work full-year, full-time. When comparing each of the states to one another individually, almost every state has around 55% (ranging from 46% to 62%) of its households in full-time, full-year work. But only Oregon is in the low 40s (42.4%), with West Virginia second lowest at 44%.
Other populations where Oregon’s hunger rate is significantly higher than in other states:
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Households with a man working in a blue-collar occupation
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Households with a woman working in a blue-collar occupation or administrative support/sales occupation
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Households that moved to another house within the same county during the past year
The mobility issue is one researchers want to examine more closely. According to the study, one out of three local movers in Oregon (those who have moved but have not changed counties) is food insecure, which suggests that there are important issues to explore about how food and housing vulnerability are related. Only one other state had a higher hunger rate among local movers—Connecticut (the only state that had a faster rate of growth in income inequality than Oregon during the 1990s).
Edwards and Weber are working on a companion report that will use Oregon Population Survey data to explore why these populations are struggling with hunger and food insecurity in Oregon. The researchers specifically will explore costs (such as housing, medical, child care) relative to income and whether lack of social supports contributes to higher hunger and food insecurity rates in Oregon. The companion report should be available by spring of 2004.
The full study can be found at: http://arec.oregonstate.edu/ruralstudies/publications.htm
Summary prepared by Kim Thomas, Oregon Food Bank, 11/20/03.
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