More than a million New Jerseans Can’t Afford Nutritious Food

NJSpotlight, Sept. 5, 2013
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that 12.1 percent of New Jerseyans do not have enough money to ensure a nutritious, active life throughout the year. [The  population of New Jersey is 8.8 million people, so 12.1% is over a million people without food security.–P.M.]
What’s more, 4.6 percent are considered to have very low food security, which is defined as at least one member of a household being forced to reduce food intake and disrupt eating patterns. [That’s 400,000 people in New Jersey without enough to eat.]
According to the USDA, the problem of food insecurity is typically shielded from children, although nationally 1.2 percent of children face the problem along with their families. [There are 74 million children in the U.S., so 1.2% is almost 900,000 children without enough to eat.]
New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank, released a statement along with the USDA data arguing that this is the wrong time to cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds, also known as food stamps, as Congress is expected to consider doing next week.