Compared to most states, Delawareans do not have much to worry about when it comes to whether the cupboard and refrigerator remain stocked with food.
But the Diamond State has slipped over a three-year period.
Delaware’s “food insecurity,” defined as having difficulty in accessing enough food, is the seventh lowest among states at 9.4 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2008 findings of Household Food Security in the United States.
The state with the lowest food insecurity was North Dakota (6.9 percent), followed by Massachusetts (8.3 percent), New Hampshire (8.5 percent) Virginia (8.6 percent), Hawaii (9.1 percent) and Wyoming (9.2 percent), the USDA said its report released Monday, Nov. 16.
However, “food insecurity” in Delaware increased 2.8 percentage points compared to 2005. That put it in a tie with Connecticut and Florida. Only the states of Nevada (4 percentage points) and West Virginia (3.1 points) slipped further, according to USDA figures. On the other side of the spectrum, Utah decreased its “food insecurity” the most at –3.3 percentage points, followed by Indiana and New Mexico (-2.7 points) and South Carolina (-2.4 points).
About 15 percent of U.S. households were “food insecure” through the entire year.
The report also contains statistics on how much households spent for food in 2008, and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in federal and community food assistance programs.
This annual report, published each November, was released as Congress begins considering the Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization legislation that impacts the national school lunch and breakfast programs that subsidize the meals of many schoolchildren. This also serves as the barometer by which poverty is measured in public schools.
