Hunger In America 2001

The Hunger Study was released on November 14, 2001.

To read the summary of Hunger in America 2001, click here.

UPDATE: The local and national versions of Hunger in America, 2001 was released on November 14! Locally, over 350 face-to-face interviews were conducted with clients of emergency food services! Over 80% of our Member Agency network completed their surveys! Across the nation 32,720 face-to-face interviews with clients of emergency food services were completed at 3,458 agencies, along with 24,104 food bank member agency surveys!

WHAT IS HUNGER IN AMERICA 2001?

Hunger in America 2001, America’s Second Harvest’s third national hunger study, will serve as the definitive piece of research on hungry people and the charitable hunger relief system in the U.S. The Food Bank of South Central Michigan participated in the second study, Hunger: Faces & Facts, conducted in 1997. America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger relief charity, distributes food and grocery products to needy Americans through its network of 200 regional affiliate food banks and food rescue organizations providing services to 50,000 local charitable agencies across the country. America’s Second Harvest also seeks to educate elected officials and the general public about the nature of and solutions to the problems of hunger.

WHAT WERE THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY?

Hunger in America 2001 had four primary objectives:

• provide a comprehensive profile of the nature of hunger in the U.S.;
• compare data between 1997 (from data gleaned from America’s Second Harvest’s Hunger 1997: The Faces and Facts) and 2001 to identify trends;
• provide extensive demographic profiles of emergency food clients at feeding agencies and the efficacy of those programs to meet the need; and
• provide comprehensive demographic information about hunger and the charitable response to hunger in local communities.

WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY?

By surveying charitable hunger relief organizations across the country, America’s Second Harvest can analyze the capacity of the charitable food distribution system to meet the needs of hungry families and individuals. The client survey data will provide important and unparalleled demographic information about hungry people in national and local representations. Once compiled, the combined results from both studies will provide authoritative, comprehensive, and statistically valid data on the national charitable response to hunger and the people served. America’s Second Harvest will then be able to use this information to improve hunger relief programs, build or refine food procurement and distribution programs to best reflect the needs of consumers, and inform areas of civic education and public policy. Credible and in-depth research about hunger is a critical tool in the fight against it.

The second study, Hunger 1997: The Faces and Facts, continues to serve as the authoritative source of information in the area of emergency food assistance research. Seventy-nine network food banks participated, providing information on 11,240 agencies and personal interviews with 28,000 emergency food clients in 38 states. Approximately 125 food banks will comprise the 2001 sample, making the study even more inclusive, comprehensive, and accurate than the previous studies.

WHO COORDINATED THE STUDY?

America’s Second Harvest is pleased to be working with Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), one of the nation’s preeminent social policy research firms, to conduct the study. MPR strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to its clients and is a nationwide leader in policy research and analysis. Mathematica will be responsible for the design and dissemination of the survey instruments, data collection, the production of 125 local reports, assistance in training and monitoring food bank research personnel, and the preparation of the final report. Data collection occurred between January and March of 2001 and data analysis during the summer of 2001; the projected release date for national and local reports is November 2001.

WHAT ABOUT SPECIFIC LOGISTICS OF THE STUDY?

Food banks play an integral role in the production of Hunger in America 2001. Participating food banks are responsible for data collection at the agency and client levels. By designating a research coordinator, food banks commit themselves to conducting 400 client interviews at 40 sites (including pantries, kitchens, and shelters) and ensuring that 70% of their member agencies complete agency surveys. Since 125 food banks will be allowed to participate, 400 client interviews will be completed in emergency food programs affiliated with each food bank (in 1997, the number was 385). Ten completed interviews per site must be completed at 40 eligible agencies selected for client interviews from the agencies associated with each food bank. We are assuming that 85% of the sampled agencies will be eligible for the client survey and that 75% of the agencies will allow on-site data collection. Assuming that 125 food banks participate, we will need to select 63 agencies from each food bank for client interviews, of which we will expect 53 to be eligible to participate and 40 to agree to participate in the client survey. In terms of agency surveys, we are expecting to yield 21,000 completed interviews from the 30,000 agencies for which interviews were attempted, for a yield rate of 70%.

WHO FUNDED THIS STUDY?

Funding for local participation in the national Hunger in America 2001 study has come from: Battle Creek Community Foundation, Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo, City of Battle Creek, Consumers Energy Foundation, Gilmore Foundation, Hillsdale County Community Foundation, Kalamazoo Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Michigan National Bank, Miller Foundation, Summit Pointe, the United Way of Greater Battle Creek, the United Way of Kalamazoo and the Weatherwax Foundation.