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The number of Americans who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food soared last year, to 49 million, the highest since the government began tracking 14 years ago what it calls “food insecurity,” the Department of Agriculture reported Monday.  The increase, of 13 million Americans, was much larger than even the most pessimistic observers of hunger trends had expected and cast an alarming light on the daily hardships caused by the recession’s punishing effect on jobs and wages.  According to the New York Times, about a third of these struggling households had what the researchers called “very low food security,” meaning lack of money forced members to skip meals, cut portions, or otherwise forgo food at some point in the year.  The other two-thirds typically had enough to eat, but only by eating cheaper or less varied foods, relying on government aid like food stamps, or visiting food pantries and soup kitchens.

One figure that drew officials’ attention was the number of households, 506,000, in which children faced “very low food security”— up from 323,000 the previous year. 

Analysts said the main reason for the growth was the rise in the unemployment rate, to 7.2 percent at the end of 2008 from 4.9 percent a year earlier. And since it now stands at 10.2 percent, the survey might in fact understate the number of Americans struggling to get adequate food.  Rising food prices, too, might have played a role.  The food stamp rolls have expanded to record levels, with 36 million Americans now collecting aid, an increase of nearly 40 percent from two years ago. And the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed last winter, raised the average monthly food stamp benefit per person by about 17 percent, to $133. Many states have made it easier for those eligible to apply, but rising applications and staffing cuts have also brought long delays.

Problems gaining access to food were highest in households with children headed by single mothers.  About 37 percent of them reported some form of food insecurity compared with 14 percent of married households with children.  About 29 percent of Hispanic households reported food insecurity, compared with 27 percent of black households, and 12 percent of white households.  Serious problems were most prevalent in the South, followed equally by the West and Midwest.

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• Developing relationships with babies
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• Selecting appropriate toys
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