A Member of:
Strengthening Communities to Fight Hunger with Food, Education, and Advocacy
HUNGER FACTS
One in five Americans is food insecure...
...that is, lacking in consistent access to enough food for active healthy living. The Wichita Falls Area Food Bank serves as one of 200 food banks affiliated with Feeding America and working to solve our nation's problem with hunger. Every week, over 3,100 different people receive emergency food provided through the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank. This figure does not include people receiving meals or snacks through senior centers, daycare facilities, or after-school programs.
Hunger in the Region
1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children are food insecure.
The term food insecure is defined as lacking access to enough food to sustain a healthy life.
Within the service area of the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank, there are over 39,000 people suffering from food insecurity. The food insecurity rate overall is 17.6%.
Of the region’s food insecure, 35% live above the income threshold for government assistance programs like the National School Lunch Program and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp program) has even more stringent income guidelines, barring individuals living above 165% of the federal poverty level. For example, a family of three with an annual income over $22,332 is ineligible for SNAP benefits.
Until now, the Food Bank has been limited to identifying hunger solely through its root cause – poverty. But the Map the Meal Gap estimates take into account additional factors like unemployment, local cost of food, and perceived food-budget shortfalls. According to Feeding America, the extent of unemployment in a county was a stronger predictor of food insecurity than poverty.
The Food Bank and over 160 partners and program agencies face significant challenges ahead in delivering the 9.8 million meals called for each year to meet the need. As the Food Bank explores new and unique ways to obtain more food for distribution, we are grateful to a responsive community and the many individuals and organizations who keep our mission alive.
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