Hispanics in the U.S. are twice as likely to be at risk of hunger than non-Hispanic white households says Feeding America the network of different food banks in the country that provide groceries and food to over six million hungry people every week.
The Department of Agriculture in the U.S. uses “food insecurity” as a term to describe not having access to sufficient food to maintain a normal healthy life. Over 29% of the children in Hispanic households across the U.S. live in homes that are served by the network of Feeding America that has over 61,000 shelters, food pantries and soup kitchens. Only 11% of the non-Hispanic white children live in homes that are served by Feeding America.
Facts about lack of sufficient food in Hispanic homes are troubling to many, as it gets worse and worse. Over 50.5 million Hispanics live in the United States and they are twice as likely to not have enough food compared to non-Hispanic white households. Counties across the U.S. that have Hispanic populations that are the majority, are disproportionately present among the top 10% of counties where lack of sufficient food is the highest.
Unemployment is one of the biggest reasons for food insecurity and currently the rate of unemployment is much higher among Hispanics (11%), than amongst non-Hispanic whites (8%).
Obesity can be caused due to a lack of nutritious protein rich foods and Hispanics face a higher risk of obesity than most other ethnic or racial groups. Hispanic Americans in 2009 were 1.2 times more likely to be obese than whites who were non-Hispanic.
