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Background: Learn More

Make a Commitment

The fundamental cause of food insecurity and hunger in the United States is poverty—the lack of adequate resources to address basic needs such as food, shelter and health care. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs provide a safety net that improves access to food to those with critical needs. FNS programs have a wide reach:

• Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs reach 1 in 4 Americans each year. FNS has several programs that focus on increasing access to food for the children who need it most.

• Every month, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has more than 44 million participants, nearly half of which are children.

• The National School Lunch Program feeds approximately 32 million school children every day.

• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) currently serves more than 9 million clients in an average month, including nearly half of all babies in the U.S.

Additional research and resources:

• Learn more about household food security in the United States from the USDA Economic Research Service.

• Learn more about the research that informs FNS policymaking and management of Federal nutrition assistance.

2009 Listening Sessions

In 2009, to gather ideas about how we can work together to end childhood hunger, FNS held 17 listening sessions and collected emails from stakeholders across the country. The ideas that were gathered in this process informed the development of the FNS Stakeholder Guide to Ending Childhood Hunger. Thank you to all who shared their wisdom, experience and great ideas. You can listen to the webinars in their entirety here:

1. Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009
2. Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
3. Monday, Nov. 23, 2009
4. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009

 

 

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Last Modified:04/26/2012