Hunger in Today's Economy

People are hungry in our community

• Texas has the highest rate of food insecurity* in the nation for children under the age of 18
• In Central Texas, 1 in 4 children and 1 in 5 adults suffer from hunger or food insecurity

* food insecurity is defined as being unable to access adequate amounts of nutritious food necessary for a healthy life 

View a presentation about hunger in Hays County and the work of the Food Bank

Who is hungry?

• the elderly living on fixed incomes
• low income families with children
• the sick and disabled
• people suffering from hard times
• people living paycheck to paycheck

Why are people hungry?

Failure to make a living wage

• In the Austin/San Marcos area, a family of four needs to earn $53,000 to cover basic needs like housing, food, transportation, childcare, etc
• 40% of Central Texas households do not earn this living wage

 Poverty

• 11% of school age children in Hays County live below the 2006 Federal Poverty Level of $20,000 for a family of 4
• 68% of the San Marcos CISD students, 48% of Hays CISD students, and 24% of Wimberley IDS students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program

Medical and prescription bills

• Texas has the highest number of uninsured people of any state in the nation - 26% of the state's population
• 34% of Capital Area Food Bank clients report having to choose between paying for food and purchasing medicines

High cost of living

• Rent in the Austin/San Marcos area is higher than any other metropolitan area in Texas
• Low income families spend 11.6% of their income on utilities compated to 4.3% for the average family

Temporary circumstances

• Injury, accident, or illness of some kind
• Lose your job or get laid off
• Over 40% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck so unexpected circumstances can lead to catastrophe