• 16.9% of the people living in the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s service area in metro Atlanta and north Georgia are food insecure, meaning that they don’t always know where they will find their next meal. (Feeding America “Map the Meal Gap” Study. Data released April 2012.) See how Georgia compares to other states by viewing the interactive map.
• The need for food assistance has grown significantly. Over the past three years, the number of Georgia households receiving food stamps has increased by 62%. (Georgia DHR, 2012.)
• More than one in every four Georgia children – 28.3% of our children – now live in food insecure households. This is up from 27.9% last year. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of access to adequate food resulting from the lack of money and other resources. (Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2011. Data released May 2012.) See how Georgia children compare to children in other states by viewing the interactive map. Be sure to click the box entitled Child Food Insecurity Rates.
  
• According to the latest US Census Bureau American Community Survey, 26.3% of Georgia’s children live in poverty – up from 24.8% last year. That’s more than 640,000 children under age 18. (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Profile. Data released Sept. 2012.)
• From 2000 to 2010, the number of poor individuals in the Atlanta metro suburbs more than doubled, growing by 122%. (Source: U.S. Census, cited: http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2011/09/22-metro-poverty-berube-kneebone) 
• Nearly 1.8 million Georgians (19.1%) are living in poverty according to the latest US Census Bureau American Community Survey. This is up from 1.7 million (17.8%) in 2011, and represents an increase of 150,000 people in poverty. (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Profile. Data released Sept. 2012.)
• 17.4% of Georgia households experienced low food security from 2009-2011. Food Security is defined as access to enough food for an active, healthy life. (USDA Household Food Security in the United States, 2011. Data released Sept. 2012.)
• Among households with school age children, 67% of children from client households surveyed in the Hunger in America Study participate in the federal school lunch program while only 14% participate in the federal summer food program. (Feeding America “Hunger in America 2010” Study.)

• 10.9% - more than one in every ten senior citizens in Georgia - are living in poverty. (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Profile. Data released Sept. 2012.)

   

   

• For the third consecutive year, USDA reported that 1 in every 6 Americans is food insecure - the number has remained at or near 50 million Americans for the past 4 years. The USDA defines food insecurity as the lack of access to adequate food resulting from the lack of money and other resources. (USDA, Household Food Security in the United States, 2011. Data released September, 2012.)
• 48.4 million Americans (15.9%) were reported as living in poverty in 2012 – up by 2.2 million from the prior year. (U.S. Census Bureau American Communities Survey Profile 2011. Data released September, 2012.)
• 21.6% of U.S. children live in food insecure households. (Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2012. Data released May, 2012.)
• Nearly 4 million young children (ages 5 and under) in the U.S. are food insecure.  They lack enough food for a healthy, active life during a critical time for their brains and bodies to grow and develop. (Feeding America, Child Food Insecurity in the U.S. 2006-2008, and John Cook, Ph.D., Boston Medical Center and Boston university School of Medicine. 2010.)
• The number of children living in poverty in the U.S. jumped from 22% to 21.9% from 2010 to 2011 – that’s a total of more than 16.1 million kids and is statistically unchanged from last year's numbers. (U.S. Census Bureau – Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S. 2011 Data released in 2012.)

• As the need has continued to grow, ACFB has been able to respond, thanks to an involved and caring community. ACFB distributed an overall total of more than 37 million pounds of food and grocery products in Fiscal Year 2011-12 compared to nearly 34 million pounds in the prior year, an 11% increase. Over the past four years, ACFB’s distribution has increased by 85%. (Atlanta Community Food Bank. 2013.)
• This year, ACFB is able to distribute $8.47 worth of grocery products back into the community for every $1.00 donated. (Atlanta Community Food Bank. 2013.)
• 94 cents of every dollar donated to ACFB (including the value of all donated food) goes directly to services in the community to help fight hunger. (Atlanta Community Food Bank. 2013.)
• ACFB is one of more than 200 food banks that are members of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. (Atlanta Community Food Bank. 2013.)
• In fiscal year 2011-2012, volunteers served 109,978 hours in support of the ACFB mission - the equivalent of hours served by 52 full time staff members. (Atlanta Community Food Bank. 2013.)
• 58,900 different people are now receiving emergency food each week through a network of more than 600 nonprofit partner agencies served by ACFB – a 39% increase over the last four years. (*Feeding America “Hunger in America 2010” Study.)
• 72% of client households served by ACFB partner agencies are food insecure – meaning they do not always know where they will find their next meal. 39% of these food insecure households experience very low food security – meaning they are sometimes completely without a source of food. (*Feeding America “Hunger in America 2010” Study.)
• 39% of client households served by ACFB partner agencies reported having to choose between paying their rent or mortgage and food, and 32% reported having to choose between paying for medicine or medical care and food. (*Feeding America “Hunger in America 2010” Study.)
• ACFB is a critical food resource for its partner agencies. We provided 72% of the food distributed by partner food pantries, 47% of the food served at partner soup kitchens and 31% of the food served at partner shelters in 2009. (*Feeding America “Hunger in America 2010” Study.)

*Note:  ACFB is one of 185 Feeding America member food banks that participated in the Hunger in America 2010 study. Data was collected from 400 face-to-face interviews with people seeking emergency food assistance and 376 partner agency surveys. To get more details on the Hunger in America Study, visit http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-studies/hunger-study-2010.aspx.  Feeding America is currently gathering data for a new Hunger in America study.  We will post new data as soon as it is released.