Food Insecurity Continues to Grow
Missouri trends mirror the national picture; MU scientist offers policy suggestions to fight hunger issues
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The 2013 Missouri Hunger Atlas, issued by the University of Missouri’s Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, shows that more than one in five Missouri households with children are food insecure, meaning they worry about not having enough food. One author of the Hunger Atlas said that patterns in Missouri reflect what is happening at the national level, and offers suggestions for actions from government policy makers and individuals to provide some relief.
“The percentage of Missouri’s population that is food insecure has grown from an average of 8.6 percent during the 1999-2001 period to 16 percent during the 2009-2011 period,” said Sandy Rikoon, the director of the MU Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security and co-author of the Hunger Atlas. “Many of our findings – including deeper food insecurity rates in inner cities and rural areas, and greater lack of participation in food programs in some highly populated regions near urban centers – are comparable to national trends. We also found an increase in the number of households that experience hunger in the form of reduced meal portions, skipped meals and other reductions.” (more…)