One in seven U.S. homes is food insecure
That latest job report shows one of the most persistent disconnects in the economy.
The unemployment rate fell below 6 percent for the first time since July 2008, but people are still struggling. They’re either dropping out of the labor force or can only get a part-time job.
Here’s an interesting trend. That share of the population, what’s known as the U6 rate, tracks pretty closely with the share of Americans who receive food assistance through the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
(via USDA)
More than 45 million Americans are a part of SNAP, but the gains in the jobs report don’t seem to make that budge at the ground level.
And how people spend their SNAP money is just part of the debate in Washington over food stamp spending. In January, Congress voted to cut 8.6 billion dollars from SNAP over the next ten years, despite a new report from the agriculture department saying one in seven Americans is food insecure.
That means, in those households, at least one family member goes without the recommended number of meals.
We visited a food pantry in the Bronx in New York to put food insecurity in context. Click play above to hear more about food insecurity in the U.S.
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