Hunger in the DC Metro Area >

ABOUT HUNGER

Hunger and poverty are directly correlated.  In the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, there are approximately 633,000 residents are at risk of, or experiencing hunger.  (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). 

The Capital Area Food Bank defines poverty based upon 185 percent of the federal government poverty guidelines.  This means that a household may earn up to 185 percent of the U.S. government's standard of poverty and still be considered "in poverty."  This measure is utilized by the federal government to determine eligibility for many government programs.

The poverty rate for school children ages 5 - 17 in the District of Columbia is 51.3 percent compared with 34.5 percent nationally, the highest in the nation.  This translates in to 200,000 children at risk of hunger in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area – 56,000 in the District alone or 1 in 2 children.  In Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, 1 in 5 children is at risk of hunger and in Northern Virginia, 1 in 6.

As alarming as these statistics are, they only tell part of the story of hunger in our community:

• 109,000 D.C. residents are eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program each month, however only two-thirds actually receive them; and of those who do, 74 percent report that they do not last the entire month. (USDA and 2001 Hunger Study-Mathematica Policy Research) 
• Total number of families making less than $35,000 per year is 43,084 (representing 38.3% of all working families)
• The average monthly Food Stamp Program benefit is $91.83.
• Nearly 50 percent of the households served report at least one working adult in the household.   (Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. 2006).