Some 15.8 percent of U.S. households say there were times in the past year when they were unable to buy food that they or their families needed, according to the anti-hunger group Food Research and Action Center. “The food-hardship rates are the lowest since Gallup began collecting data in 2008,” said FRAC, which analyzed data from the Gallup-Healthways Well Being survey for the first half of this year. The rate was down by 1.3 percent from June 2014. FRAC said there were statistically significant declines in12 states while rates in 33 other states were unchanged “or, more typically, declined but by an amount that was within the margin of error.”
The improving economy and higher employment rates make it easier for families to afford food. “Meanwhile, federal nutrition programs buoy this positive trajectory,” the group said. The mid-year rate of 15.8 percent of households struggling to afford food was the same as Gallup reported for the first quarter of the year. The peak was 19.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013.