HIGHLIGHTS OF FINDINGS IN HAMPTON ROADS
This report presents information on the clients and agencies served by FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia. The information is drawn from a national study, Hunger in America 2001, conducted for America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest organization of emergency food providers. The national study is based on completed in-person interviews with more than 32,000 clients served by the network, as well as completed questionnaires from nearly 24,000 agencies. This report is based on surveys of 383 clients. In addition, 94 agencies served by FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia. Key findings are summarized below:
HOW MANY CLIENTS RECEIVE FOOD FROM A2H EMERGENCY FOOD
PROVIDERS?
The system served by FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia provides food for an estimated 306,976 different people. Annually 91,181 different people receive assistance in any given week.
WHO RECEIVES EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE?
The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula and Southeast Virginia provide food for a broad cross-section of households. The essential characteristics include as the following:
26.9% of the members of households served by FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia are children under 18 years old
8.5% of the members of households served by FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia are children age 0 to 5 years
7.6% are elderly
25.1% of clients are Caucasian
74.7% are African American
1.7% are Hispanic
51.6% of households include at least one employed adult
74.4% have incomes below the official federal poverty level during the previous month
1.8% are receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and 0.4% are receiving General Assistance
8.0% are homeless
HOW MANY CLIENTS ARE FOOD INSECURE OR ARE EXPERIENCING HUNGER?
Among all clients of FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia, 71.5% are classified as food insecure, using the U.S. government’s official food security scale. This includes both clients who are food insecure without hunger and those classified as food insecure with hunger, 41.5% of all clients of FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia are classified by the scale as experiencing hunger. Among households with children, 59.1% are food insecure and 26.4% are experiencing hunger.
HOW MANY CLIENTS REPORT HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN FOOD AND OTHER NECESSITIES?
50.6% of clients report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.
44.8% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage bill.
35.7% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.
DO CLIENTS ALSO RECEIVE FOOD ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT?
34.0% of client households are receiving Food Stamp Program benefits; however, it is likely that many more are eligible.
Among households with pre-school children, 39.9% participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Among households with school-age children, 60.6% and 56.3%, respectively, participate in the federal school lunch and school breakfast programs.
HOW MANY CLIENTS ARE IN POOR HEALTH?
25.3% of households report having at least one household member in poor health .
ARE MOST CLIENTS SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICES THEY RECEIVE
FROM THE FOODBANK AND THE MEMBER AGENCIES?
97.5% of adult clients said they were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the amount of food they received from their Foodbank member agency
97.7% were satisfied with the quality of the food they received
HOW LARGE IS THE PROVIDER NETWORK?
Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula and the Foodbank of Southeast Virginia combined, serve approximately 557 agencies.
WHAT KINDS OF ORGANIZATIONS OPERATE EMERGENCY FOOD PROGRAMS?
87.4% of pantries, 77.5% of kitchens, and 43.7% of shelters are run by faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations
Most of the other agencies are private nonprofit organizations with no religious affiliation
HAVE AGENCIES BEEN EXPERIENCING CHANGES IN THE NEED FOR THEIR
SERVICES?
44.6% pantries, 50.6% kitchens, and 63.9% shelters reported that there had been an increase since 1998 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites.
WHERE DO FOODBANKS OBTAIN THEIR FOOD?
Hunger in America 2001 FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia
Food banks are by far the single most important source of food for most Foodbank member agencies, accounting for 63.6% of the food used by pantries, 39.0% of kitchens food, and 27.2% of shelters food.
Other important sources of food include religious organizations and direct purchases from wholesalers and retailers. Government commodity programs account for about 6.7% of food for pantries, 0.0% for kitchens, and 0.0% for shelters.
ARE VOLUNTEERS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE FOODBANKS?
83.6% of pantries, 90.5% of kitchens, and 86.8% of shelters use volunteers
76.0% of pantry programs and 47.2%of kitchens have no paid staff at all
INTRODUCTION
Recent government data indicate that at least 9.2 million households in the United States were food insecure in 1999, and that approximately 3 million households had experienced hunger at some point in that year. The food insecure households contained an estimated 27 million people, of whom 11 million were children. The existence of large numbers of people without secure access to adequate nutritious food represents a serious national concern. An important response to this problem has been the growth of private-sector institutions that have been created to provide food for the needy. In particular, throughout the United States, food pantries, emergency kitchens, and homeless shelters play a critical role in meeting the nutritional needs of Americas low-income population. By providing people who need assistance with food for home preparation (pantries) and with prepared food that can be eaten at the agencies (kitchens and shelters), these organizations help meet the needs of people and households that otherwise, in many instances, would lack sufficient food. Americas Second Harvest (A2H) plays critical roles in helping these organizations accomplish their mission. A2H, a network of about 80% of all food banks in this country, supports the emergency food system by obtaining food for the system from national organizations, such as major food companies, and providing technical assistance and other services to the food banks and food rescue organizations. A2H also represents the interests of the emergency food community in the national political process.
Hunger in America 2001 FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia. Over the years, A2H has periodically studied the workings of its network and the Characteristics of the clients the network serves, both to assess the severity of nutrition-related problems of the poor in America and to identify ways of increasing the effectiveness of its operations. This report presents the results of the third comprehensive study sponsored by A2H. The study provides detailed information about the programs and agencies that operate under A2H-affiliated food banks and the clients the programs serve. This chapter of the report provides important background for the findings.
The Hunger in America 2001 study comprises a national survey of A2H emergency food providers and their clients. The study had the following primary objectives:
•To describe the national demographic characteristics, income levels, food stamp utilization, food security status, and service needs of low-income clients who access emergency food assistance from the A2H network at the national level
•To describe the demographic profiles of clients of local agencies and to examine the ability of local agencies to meet the food security needs of their clients
•To compare data, where possible, between the 1997 and 2001 A2H research studies, to identify trends in emergency food assistance demands, and to relate observed trends to welfare policies
To compare local-level and national-level data on the characteristics of agencies in describing the charitable response to hunger throughout the nation Hunger in America 2001 FB of the Virginia Peninsula and the FB of Southeast Virginia
Over the years, A2H has periodically studied the workings of its network and the characteristics of the clients the network serves, both to assess the severity of nutrition-related problems of the poor in America and to identify ways of increasing the effectiveness of its operations. This report presents the results of the third comprehensive study sponsored by A2H.The study provides detailed information about the programs and agencies that operate under A2H-affiliated food banks and the clients the programs serve.
This chapter of the report provides important background for the findings. Subsequent subsections:
•Highlight the objectives of the study
•Provide an overview of the America’s Second Harvest Foodbank Network
•Identify the groups of organizations involved in conducting the study
•Provide an overview of the rest of the report
OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICA’S SECOND HARVEST FOODBANK NETWORK
A2H has 191 member food banks. These certified-affiliate members are regularly monitored by A2H staff and food industry professionals to ensure compliance with acceptable food handling, storage, and distribution standards and practices. Food banks distribute food and grocery products to charitable organizations in their specified service areas. Within this system, a number of different types of charitable organizations and programs provide food, directly or indirectly, to needy clients. However, there is no uniform use of terms identifying the essential nature of the organizations. Hunger relief organizations are usually grassroots responses to local
needs. As such, they frequently differ throughout the country and use different nomenclatures.
For a complete copy of the Hunger In America 2001 survey, please contact: Hunger In America
