USDA says 12 mL Americans faced hunger in 2005

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 12 million U.S. households had trouble feeding themselves last year, but the rate of food insecurity did decline, the government said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Agriculture Department said its food insecurity rate, a measurement of how well households can feed themselves, dipped to 11 percent, or roughly 35 million Americans in 2005, from 11.9 percent in 2004.

In its annual report, USDA said 12.6 million households were food insecure, meaning they had difficulty providing enough food for the household throughout the year. In 4.4 million households, members had to disrupt eating patterns because food was scarce. The percentage of households with the worst problems was unchanged at 3.9 percent.

It was the first time in six years the rate has declined, said the anti-hunger group Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). But the group said hunger should have declined further given the growing economy.

"It is simply unacceptable that after years of economic growth, 35.1 million people in this country face a constant struggle against hunger," said FRAC president Jim Weill. The group urged an expansion of the food stamp and school meal programs as well as a higher minimum wage.

"The other two thirds of food-insecure households obtained enough food to avoid substantial disruptions" -- by eating less varied diets, enrolling in public nutrition programs or going to community food pantries, the report said.

"Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher for households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, households headed by single women with children, and for black and Hispanic households," the government said. "Geographically, food insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas than in suburbs and in the South than in other areas of the nation."