IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT HUNGER IN THE US

Mark Narmuq

INTRODUCTION Mark Mohammad Narmuq leads the Houston, Texas, businesses

Narmuq Capital, Fargo, LLC, and G L Granite, LLC as chief executive officer. Away from his various professional responsibilities, Mark Narmuq spends time contributing to philanthropic endeavors that address issues of homelessness and hunger throughout the United States.

While the issue of hunger is often attributed to impoverished, developing nations, first world countries such as the United States deal with significant hunger problems as well. In fact, one in six Americans will struggle with hunger at some point in their lifetime. Hunger is not a localized issue, either. In 2013 the need for food plagued 17.5 million homes in every part of the country, while an estimated 49 million citizens struggle to afford food on a daily basis.

HUNGER IN THE US Indeed, hunger in America is not the result of lack of

resources, but rather the more widespread problem that is poverty.

As recently as 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified nearly 21 percent of homes with children suffering form food insecurity, a term used to describe the inability to provide all household members with adequate nutrition at all times. This figure suggests that hunger is a more prevalent challenge to families, as food insecurity rates among childless homes stayed around 12 percent. About 20 percent of American children are at risk for hunger, a figure that increases to 33 percent among African-Americans and Latinos.