A report from the anti-hunger group Feeding America says that food insecurity rates are highest in rural counties and in the South, says the news site CityLab. For the report, Feeding America combined data from USDA, the Census Bureau and the Labor Department “to stitch together a portrait of food insecurity at the state and county levels,” says CityLab, with Jefferson County along the Mississippi River in southwestern Mississippi having the highest rate in the nation, 38 percent.
Nearly every demographic category suffers from food insecurity, according to the report. “Food insecurity is particularly pernicious in rural America — and especially in southern counties. Of the U.S. counties with the highest rates of food insecurity, 76 percent are rural, and 89 percent are in the South.” Rates top 30 percent in 11 of the 82 counties in Mississippi.
Unemployment and low household income are among the indicators of food insecurity. Like USDA, Feeding America says fewer Americans are going hungry. Some 42 million were food insecure at latest count, down from 50 million in 2009, when the country impact of recession was keenly felt. “But hunger-relief infrastructure has still struggled to keep pace with need, particularly in rural and suburban areas,” said CityLab.