247wallst | The states with the lowest food security, not surprisingly, are among
the poorest in the country. In all 10 states, the median household
income was less than the national median of $50,502. In Mississippi and
Arkansas, the two worst states for food security, median income was less
than $40,000. Of the 10 states with the lowest food security, eight had
the highest poverty rates in the country.
Ross Fraser, spokesperson for hunger-relief charity Feeding America,
explained that having low food security does not necessarily mean
families are starving. While people may feel full after eating,
nutritious food is expensive. “Often, people have to make unfortunate
choices about what they put in their stomachs.” Fraser added.
Indeed, according to a 2012 Gallup-Healthways survey, people in nine
of the 10 states were less likely to eat healthily on a daily basis than
the nation as a whole. Missouri and Tennessee were third and second
worst in the country by this measure.
It may surprise some that, in fact, the majority of the 10 states
with food access problems have higher-than-average obesity rates.
Mississippi and Arkansas had the second and third highest obesity rates
in the country in 2012. “The lack of healthy food among families in
these states,” explained Fraser, “is one of the reasons you have very
poor people who are obese. It is because they’re not able to afford
nutritious and high protein food.”
Based on a three-year average between 2010 and 2012, the USDA‘s
report, Household Food Security in the United States in 2012,
identifies the states with the highest proportion of residents who had
low or very low food security. The report measures how many households
have low food security — defined as being able to eat three square meals
a day, but forced to reduce the quality of the food they eat — and very
low food security — defined as having food intake reduced and eating
patterns disrupted because of a lack of affordability. The 2000-2002 and
2007-2009 averages also were considered. 24/7 Wall St. also reviewed
poverty, income, education and food stamp recipiency data from the U.S.
Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey, as well as the obesity
and access to food data for 2012 from the Gallup-Healthways 2012
Well-Being Index.
These are the states where the most people go hungry.
