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In 2005, The Greater Boston Food Bank conducted the most comprehensive study on hunger in the state's history. The study demonstrated that the number of people seeking food assistance in the Commonwealth had increased 14% since 2001 (the year of the last study). Hunger is an increasingly serious problem in eastern Massachusetts and across the United States.
The Hunger in Eastern Massachusetts 2006 study was part of a national initiative led by America's Second Harvest—The Nation's Food Bank Network, which conducted research nationwide. The "Hunger Studies" are conducted every four years.
Key findings for eastern Massachusetts include:
- 14% more people sought food assistance in 2005 than in 2001. More than 320,000 people sought assistance in 2005.
- About a third of the households receiving food assistance have at least one child under 18 years of age.
- Nearly a third say that their children are not eating enough because they can't afford enough food.
- Many of those interviewed had to make unacceptable choices:
- 45% had to choose between food and heat.
- 39% had to choose between food and rent.
- 30% had to choose between food and medical care.
- The study also shows that there is no one face of hunger.
- 84% have a place to live.
- More than a third of the households served have one or more working adults.
- 46% of the clients are between 30 and 49 years old.
- 52% live in suburban or rural areas.
- Nearly two-thirds are registered voters.
- Poverty and food insecurity are linked:
- The average monthly income of those receiving food assistance is below the federal poverty level.
- $880 is the average monthly income; $12,210 is the average annual income.
To read the Hunger In Eastern Massachusetts 2006 Executive Summary, download this  .
Related Documents
Position of the American Dietetic Association
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that systematic and sustained action is needed to bring an end to domestic food insecurity and hunger and to achieve food and nutrition security for all in the United States.
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Hunger in America 2006 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Summary
The three America's Second Harvest Food Banks of Massachusetts: Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Greater Boston Food Bank; and Worcester Country Food Bank, along with more than 160 other America's Second Harvest (A2H) food banks nationwide, have recently participated in the most comprehensive survey of hunger ever undertaken in the United States.
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2004 Report on Summer Nutrition Programs
2004 Report on Summer Nutrition Programs: "Hunger Doesn't Take A Vacation" from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
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