13 Percent of New York State Households Struggling with Hunger; New Polling Data Show Broad Support for SNAP/Food Stamps and Opposition to Cuts

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13 Percent of New York State Households Struggling with Hunger; New Polling Data Show Broad Support for SNAP/Food Stamps and Opposition to Cuts

Albany, NY – September 7, 2012 – One in eight households in New York State struggled with hunger on average in the years 2009-2011, according to new data released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its annual report on food insecurity. Nationally, more than 50 million people lived in households that were food insecure in 2011. These numbers show that there are still millions of hungry Americans, even while some in Congress propose billions in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).

New polling data released this week by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) shows an overwhelming majority of Americans opposing SNAP cuts. The strength and depth of public support has remained steady over the last two years. In particular, when asked “[t]his year, Congress will consider cutting billions of dollars from the food stamp program in an effort to reduce federal spending. Do you favor cutting food assistance to low-income families and seniors, or do you think that is the wrong way to reduce government spending,” 75 percent say it is the wrong way to reduce spending. That number was 77 percent in January 2012 and 71 percent in November 2010.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents to the FRAC poll support spending more (55 percent) federal money or about the same amount (24 percent) to address the problem of hunger, compared to just 17 percent who say the federal government should be spending less. Support for SNAP specifically and opposition to SNAP cuts is high among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents; higher among women than men; high in all major geographic regions; and high among all age groups, especially among those aged 18 to 34. The poll of 1,011 adults was conducted by Hart Research Associates from August 23-26, 2012.

Full results of the poll are available on FRAC’s website.

“With one in eight New York State households struggling with hunger, it is unacceptable that so many in Congress have proposed cuts to SNAP that would harm the most vulnerable among us – seniors, working families, and children,” said Linda Bopp, Executive Director of Hunger Solutions New York.  “Americans support SNAP, and they believe government should – and must – do more to address hunger.”

Both the Senate and House Agriculture Committee versions of the Farm Bill contain cuts to SNAP. The Senate plan for the Farm Bill includes a cut of more than $4 billion over 10 years to the program, achieved largely by reducing SNAP benefits for an estimated 500,000 households (300,000 of them in New York State) by $90/month. The House Agriculture Committee bill would make these same cuts plus completely end benefits for a minimum of 1.8 million people nationwide, cutting the program by $16 billion.

Among the 13.2 percent of households in New York State considered to be food insecure during the 2009-2011 period, 5.1 percent were considered to have “very low food security.” People that fall into this USDA category had more severe problems, experiencing deeper hunger and cutting back or skipping meals on a more frequent basis for both adults and children.

“Given the depth and breadth of the economic downturn, SNAP continues to help more than three million New Yorkers afford food,” said Bopp. “Clearly, there is more work to be done.”

In New York State, people who are struggling to afford food can visit www.FoodHelpNY.org to get assistance applying for SNAP.

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About the USDA Report
Since 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture, using data from surveys conducted annually by the Census Bureau, has released estimates of the number of people in households that are food insecure. Food insecure households are those that are not able to afford an adequate diet at all times in the past 12 months. The report also includes food insecurity rates for each state, but for states it uses three-year averages to give a better estimate of the number of households experiencing food insecurity. Experts agree that the Census/USDA measure of food insecurity is a conservative one, with the result that only households experiencing substantial food insecurity are so classified.