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INDEX_27

Hunger Data Book 2002

Introduction

Welcome to the fourth edition of Hunger in New York State — A Data Book: County Profiles of Poverty, Hunger and Nutrition Program Utilization Statistics. The look and format of this data book has changed. We hope that this edition will be a useful resource in your work.

New to the 2002 data book are county-level food insecurity estimates. These estimates, previously only available at the national and state level, help to identify the number of New Yorkers who are hungry and face difficulties in accessing nutritious meals. The Nutrition Consortium obtained this data by contracting with John T. Cook, Ph.D., principal investigator for the USDA Food Security Measurement Study 1995-1997. Dr. Cook led the team that developed the food security and hunger measures used by the Census Bureau and USDA to produce and report annual food security estimates for the United States.

This data book also provides comprehensive data on federal nutrition program participation at the state and county level. Data on various indicators of need and program participation are provided for New York State, New York City, and each of the state’s 62 counties. To allow for a quick look at statewide participation data for each program, spreadsheets have been included at the back of the data book, and similar-county comparison graphs are also provided.

In order to demonstrate the need for nutrition assistance programs, we provide general demographic statistics, including poverty, food insecurity, median income, infant mortality, unemployment, and childhood poverty statistics. In addition, each profile page includes individual program boxes for the Food Stamp Program (FSP), Emergency Food Assistance, Senior Nutrition Programs, the School Lunch Program (SLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), the Summer Food Program (SFP), the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

For the Food Stamp Program, October 2001 participation data is provided in each profile, including the number of participating individuals and households, the average household size, the total amount of benefits issued monthly, the average per person monthly benefit, an estimate of potentially eligible individuals, and the percentage of those estimated to be eligible for food stamps who are also participating in the program. In addition, a comparison of the number of individuals participating in March 1996 and October 2001, the percent decline during this period, and the total amount of monthly benefits lost as a result of participation declines, is presented. We offer the number of individuals living in poverty as a proxy estimate of potentially Food Stamp eligible individuals.

Emergency food assistance data is provided for the time period of July 1999 to June 2000, including the number of operating food pantries, the total number of pantry visits and total number of meals distributed, the number of available soup kitchens and total number of meals served, the total number of available shelters and total meals served, and the number of voucher meals served. These statistics represent data from those providers that receive Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) funds. (While there are emergency food providers throughout the state that operate without HPNAP funding, statistics for these providers are not available.)

Each profile contains the following senior nutrition assistance program data: the number of congregate and home-delivered meal recipients during the period April 2000 to March 2001; the number of farmer’s market coupon booklets distributed in 2000; the number of seniors participating in the Food Stamp Program in June 2001; and the percentage of potentially eligible seniors participating in the Food Stamp Program. In order to provide an estimate of seniors potentially eligible for these programs, we have provided the number of seniors living below 150% of poverty (based on the Special Tabulation on Aging, Census 1990). This is the most recent data available, as 2000 Census data has not been released and the Current Population Survey no longer includes poverty estimates for seniors.

March 2001 School Lunch Program participation data is provided in each profile, including the number of children living below 185% of poverty (based on the number of free and reduced-price school meal applications on file), the number of children eligible for free and reduced-price meals, the number of children receiving free and reduced-price lunches, the number of schools operating the SLP, and the percentage of low-income children accessing lunch in school.

 

For the School Breakfast Program, March 2001 participation data is provided, including the number of children living below 185% of poverty (based on the number of free and reduced-price school meal applications on file), the number of children eligible for free and reduced-price breakfast, the number of children receiving free and reduced-price breakfast, the percentage of schools offering lunch that also offer breakfast, and the percentage of low-income children eating breakfast in school.

The Summer Food Program profiles begin with the number of children living below 185% of poverty and the number of children estimated eligible to participate. These numbers, which are based on the March 2001 school meal application data, are identical, because the program is designed to serve low-income children from families with incomes below 185% of poverty. Average daily participation in the Summer Food Program, the number of program sponsors and sites, and the percentage of low-income children accessing summer meals, are also provided.

Each WIC participation profile begins with two program-specific indicators of need, the infant mortality rate and low birth-weight rate. The number of women, infants and children estimated eligible for WIC, and the number that are participating in the program as of May 1999 are presented, along with the overall percentage of WIC eligible individuals who are participating in the program.

CACFP participation data from September 2000 is provided in each profile. The data includes the number of family day care homes and day care centers participating in CACFP, the number of children served daily and the percentage of meals served to low-income children.

Our nation’s nutrition programs are designed to prevent and reduce hunger. Full utilization of these programs is crucial to ensuring the health and well being of eligible populations. Adequately nourished adults are able to remain productive at home and in the workplace, healthy seniors are able to maintain independent lifestyles, and well nourished children are able to learn and reach their full potential. Unfortunately, as the profile pages demonstrate, a large number of eligible low-income households are not participating in these programs.

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