According to the 2000 census, there are 20,445 people in poverty in the seven counties served by this food bank. More than half of them are children or seniors.

It is difficult to imagine that hunger exists right here in northern Minnesota. But many of our neighbors struggle to meet basic needs. Thousands of families are food insecure, meaning they don't know when or where their next meal is coming from, or have very low food security, or hunger, meaning there is no next meal available.

Hunger in America 2010, is the largest, most comprehensive report ever conducted on emergency food distribution in our country. Locally, face to face interviews were conducted with clients at the food shelves, soup kitchens and shelters we serve. The survey provides startling information about the people receiving food assistance in our communities:

40% of the members of households served by the food bank are children under 18

• 9% of the members of households are elderly
• About 84% of clients are non-Hispanic white, 13% are Native American, 1% are Hispanic, 1% are black and the rest are from other racial groups
• 45% of households contain at least one employed adult
• 17% of those who are unemployed have been without work less than 6 months
• 30% of households report at least one member in poor health
• 61% have incomes below the federal poverty level during the previous month
• 2% are homeless

Many clients are food insecure with low or very low food security – hunger.

• Among all client households, 59% are food insecure, according to the US governments official food security scale. This included client households who have low food security and those how have very low food security.
  • 29% of the clients have very low food security – hunger
  • Among households with children, 61% are food insecure and 29% are food insecure with very low food security – hunger.

Many clients report having to choose between food and other necessities:

• 44% report having to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage
• 31% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care
• 32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation
• 45% had to choose between paying for food and paying for gas for a car

The full national report is available on Feeding America's web site at Hunger in America 2010.