Tagged: hunger

The number of people who do not have enough food in the United States is a serious problem.

Information from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2011 shows:

• 50.1 million people in the United States live in food insecure households
• 33.5 million are adults
• 16.7 million are children
• 14.9% of all U.S. households are food insecure

Host Don Marsh talked with guests about the food crisis nationally as well as locally.

His guests were:

On the last Sunday in June, The Bridge – a social service agency operated out of Centenary United Methodist Church in downtown St. Louis – served its 750,000th  meal.

Volunteers dished out just over 6,000 meals in 2006, the first year The Bridge was open. Last year, more than 171,000 people accepted a free hot meal.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann sat down with Kathleen Wilder, the pastor at Centenary and the executive director of The Bridge, to reflect on what it means that so many people are in need.

As many Missourians wrap up a weekend marked by celebration and plenty, somewhere near 16% of the state's population struggles with food insecurity.