Advocacy
Food Insecurity
- While food insecurity affects all low-come population groups in Los Angeles County, some population groups are more vulnerable than others. At least one in three Africa –American adults (36.2%) and Latinos (33.2%) are food insecure, compared to one in four Asians (25.4%) and one in five Whites (20.9%).
- Employment is no assurance against food insecurity. Thirty percent (29.9%) of low-income adults who are employed report being food insecure. However, those adults who are unemployed and actively looking for work have a higher rater of food insecurity (39.4%) and are twice as likely to experience hunger than those who are employed (154.3 % vs. 7.2%).
- Low-income adults living in households with children have a higher prevalence of food insecurity than do adults who live in households without children (31.6% vs. 27.6%). As a conservative estimate, 160,000 children may be living in food-insecure households in Los Angeles County. It is likely that this number is higher.
- Our recipients often need to make expense decisions. Low-income recipients often have to make the difficult choice between paying for food and basic necessities. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank study concluded:
- 43.2% had to choose between paying for utilities or food.
- 18.5% had to choose between paying for medical care or food.
