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Hunger in Westmoreland County |
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In 2005, the Westmoreland County Food Bank participated in a study called "Hunger in America 2006". This was the fourth in a quadrennial series of studies on the status of hunger in America sponsored by America's Second Harvest, the Nation's Food Bank Network. This was the first time WCFB had participated in this study.
WCFB staff and over 20 volunteers conducted surveys with agencies among its own pantry network. Nearly 300 individual clients were surveyed using questionnaires and statistic sampling methods developed by Mathmatica Policy Research, Inc.
Below are some of the findings of that study: |
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Who We Serve |
- 27% of the members of households served are children under the age of 18.
- 13% are seniors.
- 79% of our clients are females.
- 1% of our clients are homeless.
- 27.3% have less than a high school education.
- 39.2% received a G.E.D.
- 64% have incomes below the official federal poverty level. We serve anyone in need whose income is 150% or less of the official poverty level. To see specific numbers on this, please refer to our Guidelines.
- 55% of the households receive Food Stamps.
- 16% receive General Assistance (Welfare).
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Household Income |
- 61% of all households report a monthly income less than $1,400.
- The average monthly income per household is $920 and the median is $880.
- 34.5% of clients report at least some income from employment.
- 44.8% receive income from Social Security.
- 24.8% receive income from Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
- 21.6% receive income from Disability (SSDI) or Worker's Compensation.
- In 2004, 47.1% of all clients lived in households with a total annual income less than $10,000.
- The average household served has 2.2 members and a household income at 13% less than the official federal poverty level.
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Living Situations |
- Half of our clients live in single family homes but only 25% own their homes.
- 40% live in apartments and 10% live in a mobile home or trailer.
- 68% rent the place they live.
- 15% report difficulty paying their rent or mortgage.
- 22.4% of households receive Section 8 or Public Housing Assistance.
- 80% have a working motor vehicle.
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Food Security
"access by all people at all times to have enough food for an active, healthy life" |
- Among all households, 36.1% felt they are food secure. The other 63.9% felt food insecure.
- 30% reported food insecurity with the presence of hunger.
- Among adult clients, 24% report that in the last 12 months, they have had to cut the size of meals or skip meals because there was not enough money for food.
- Among households with children under the age of 18, 21% report that their children had to go hungry at least once during a twelve month period because there was not enough money for food.
- In a twelve month period, the following percentage of client households report having to choose at least once among: food and utilities (or heating fuel) 45.6%; food or rent/mortgate 33%; food or medical care/medicine 32%.
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Food Stamps |
- In 55.1% of households, at least one member of the household receives food stamps.
- 60% of clients that receive food stamps state that they last for 2 weeks or less.
- 98% state they never last a full month.
- Many clients have never applied for Food Stamps, even though they may be eligable because: think they are not eligable because of income or assets (47.2%), hard to get to Food Stamp office (8.3%), application process too long (1.8%), no need for benefit (16.5%), think others need it more (3.3%).
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Client Health and Health Care |
- 51% of adults who pick up food at pantry report that they are in fair or poor health.
- 42% report that one member of their household is in poor health.
- 42% report that they have Medicare Insurance.
- 48.5% report that they have Medicaid Insurance.
- 29% have private health insurance.
- 5% report having no health insurance.
- 39% of adult clients report having unpaid medical or hospital bills.
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Let's Talk Turkey
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