INTRODUCTION
Setting a Goal and Developing a Plan
In 2012, the last year that data are available, nearly 50 million people in the United States lived in households that
struggled to put enough food on the table.1 The number of people stalked by hunger in the United States has soared
since the Great Recession, the country’s worst economic downturn in three generations. Even before the recession,
there were all too many people stalked by hunger in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Every year since the turn of
the millennium, at least 20 million Americans (one in 10 households) have been worried about running out of food.
Figure i.1
Trends in Food Insecurity in U.S. Households, 1995-2012
Percent of households
16
Food insecurity
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Source: Calculated by USDA, Economic Research Service based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data.
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