More American kids went hungry last year

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More American kids went hungry last year
USDA: Number jumped 50 percent in 2007 — that's nearly 700,000 children


updated 1:23 p.m. PT, Mon., Nov. 17, 2008
WASHINGTON - Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year’s sharp economic downturn, the Agriculture Department reported Monday.

The department’s annual report on food security showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than double the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998.

Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2 percent of Americans who didn’t have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives.

We need to fundamentally change how we feed ourselves in this country, and it's going to take a lot more effort on all of our parts.