INSTITUTE INDEX: Will Congress let poor children go hungry?

By Sue Sturgis / September 23, 2011

Number of low-income infants, children under age 5, and pregnant and breastfeeding women who get assistance each month from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC: 9 million

Percent of those receiving WIC benefits who are infants and children: 77

Percent of the U.S. poverty line that applicants' gross income must fall at or below in order to be eligible for WIC assistance: 185

Annual income that represents for a family of four: $41,348

Number of eligible women and children who would be turned away from the non-entitlement program next year due to funding cuts in the House appropriations bill passed in June: more than 700,000

Number of eligible women and children who would be turned away from the program in the 13 Southern states*: 250,800

Date on which Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee's agricultural subcommittee, defended the cuts as a way to make the government more efficient: 5/24/2011

WIC funding cut approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month: $152 million

Percent by which the Senate funding level estimated that WIC food costs would grow next year: 2

If WIC food costs remain at the level reported in June for the remainder of this fiscal year and through the next, with no further food price inflation, percent by which WIC food costs would actually grow next year: 3.8

Under that scenario, additional funding the program would need to avoid turning away anyone in need: $42 million

In 2010, percent of U.S. households that experienced food insecurity, meaning they did not always have access to enough food for all household members: 14.5

Number of people that represents: 48.8 million

Percent of households with children headed by a single woman who experienced food insecurity: 35.1

Of the 13 Southern states, number where food insecurity was above the U.S. average between 2008 and 2010: 7**

Percentage of households that experienced food insecurity during that period in Mississippi, the state with the highest rate: 19.4

* AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA and WV
** AL, AR, FL, GA, MS, NC and TX

(Click on figure to go to source. Map from the USDA's Economic Research Service website.)

Tags

Knowledge matters.

From exposing abuses of power and holding powerful interests accountable to elevating the voices of everyday people working for change, Facing South has become a go-to source for investigative reporting and in-depth analysis of Southern issues and trends.

Support Facing South with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate