I was incarcerated, and it changed my relationship with food and caused adverse health issues. But now I’m working to lower my blood pressure thanks to the care of the providers and the food I’m able to get at the pantry.
Hunger in East Central Indiana
I’m staying over this summer on campus. It’s great to have the opportunity to cook food instead of going to fast food and worrying about if I’ll have enough money for the week.
I was homeless for a while. And now I got into a house, and I got a job. But I’m still living paycheck to paycheck. So, this [food] will help a lot.
The community is so blessed to have you. We’ve had to use Second Harvest a few times. I just wanted to say thank you.
| County | Population | Food Insecurity Rate | Food Insecure People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackford County | 12,766 | 14.4% | 1,740 |
| Delaware County | 117,671 | 13.6% | 15,270 |
| Grant County | 70,061 | 13.9% | 9,260 |
| Henry County | 49,462 | 11.9% | 5,840 |
| Jay County | 21,253 | 11.7% | 2,420 |
| Madison County | 131,636 | 12.9% | 16,830 |
| Randolph County | 26,171 | 11.4% | 2,820 |
| Wabash County | 32,888 | 10.8% | 3,350 |
Food insecurity exists in every county and congressional district in the country. Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap project offers information about local food insecurity.
2016 Statistics
- Food insecurity exists in all 3,142 counties and 436 congressional districts in all 50 states.
- 1 in 7 people across the United States struggles with hunger. The average county food-insecurity rate as of 2018 is 11.5%
- The average county child food-insecurity rate in 2018 is 15.2%
- More than half of the counties with the highest rates of overall food insecurity are rural (located outside both metropolitan and micropolitan areas) though rural counties make up less than half of all U.S counties
HUNGER & POVERTY
1 in 7 Americans struggles to get enough to eat. In fact, hunger or food insecurity exists in virtually every community in the United States. For people in East Central Indiana, hunger is a reality for 74,000 people. Hunger is not confined to a neighborhood, a gender, an age or a race.
Poverty and hunger in America often go hand in hand, but poverty is not the ultimate determinant of food insecurity. People living above the poverty line are often at risk of hunger as well.
Rates of food insecurity among rural households are generally higher than urban households. The irony is that many of these food-insecure households are in the very rural and farm communities whose productivity feeds the world and provides low-cost wholesome food for American consumers.