SAN ANTONIO – Two reports released today by the nation’s leading anti-hunger organizations demonstrate that while Texas is making headway in feeding hungry children during the summer months, millions of Texans still face a significant gap in food resources while Congress debates the largest cuts to federal aid in a generation.
The study released by Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap estimates that 4.8 million Texans, or 18.7% live in households that struggle at times to afford enough food. Of these, nearly two million are children. In total, these Texans face an annual “meal gap” of nearly 785 million meals. The report’s estimates were also made available online for every Texas county.
“This study demonstrates the reality of food insecurity in our state, that many Texans still face the challenge of feeding their families,” said Celia Cole, CEO of the Texas Food Bank Network (TFBN). “It indicates that there is still much work to be done by everyone who wants to end hunger in Texas.”
The second report, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, released by the Washington, D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) found that Texas improved participation in the summer food program by 17% in 2012, moving Texas from 41st to 34th in a nationwide ranking. Despite this progress, for every 100 low-income Texas children who received subsidized school lunches during the 2011-2012 school year, only eleven received summer meals.
“We applaud the efforts of all our partners to increase access to meals for children when school is out,” said Cole. “However, these data also show we need to do more if we are to close the summer food gap.”
The two reports were released against the backdrop of a contentious Congressional debate over funding for the federal farm bill, including a proposed $20.5 billion cut to federal SNAP (food stamps) benefits. If enacted, nearly two million recipients nationwide and an estimated 171,000 Texans would lose access to this crucial program.
“SNAP is the most important tool we have to close the meal gap in Texas,” said Cole. “These cuts would undermine our progress feeding hungry children and put many more families at risk of food insecurity. We urge Congress to reject budget cuts that hurt needy families.”
TFBN will be releasing local impact estimates for the proposed farm bill cuts later this week.
