For Immediate Release: 11/23/15
Contact: Celia Cole, 512.590.0659 or ccole@feedingtexas.org

Austin – Thanksgiving is a good time to inform your audience about hunger in Texas and how they can help their neighbors in need. Below are some tips for journalists covering hunger this holiday season.

How many are hungry in Texas?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 17% of Texas households (one in six) experience food insecurity. Texas is one of fourteen states with a higher food insecurity rate than the nation as a whole. In raw numbers, 1.7 million Texas households are food insecure, more than any other state except California. Food insecurity numbers for specific Texas counties are available here.

What are the right – and wrong – ways to describe food insecurity?
Food insecurity means being temporarily unable to afford all the food one needs. This circumstance often leads to coping mechanisms like visiting food pantries or purchasing low-cost / unhealthy foods. In more extreme cases food insecurity can result in skipping meals or not eating so that one’s children can eat.

  • Good shorthand terms for food insecurity are “struggling to avoid hunger,” “hungry, or at risk of hunger,” and “hungry, or faced by the threat of hunger.”
  • Food insecurity is a household situation, not an individual situation. Therefore it is more accurate to refer to food insecure households rather than food insecure people or children.
  • Food insecurity rates describe the previous twelve months. Therefore it is inaccurate to state that food insecure households are “hungry right now,” “going hungry tonight” or “don’t know where their next meal is coming from.” Research shows that food insecurity tends to be episodic and often cyclical.

What are some timely hooks for coverage?

  • Congress is currently considering legislation to improve access to child nutrition programs like summer meals and after-school snacks.
  • An improving job and wage market is slowly taking the pressure off anti-hunger programs like SNAP (aka food stamps). Read more on our blog.
  • Your local food bank will host opportunities to donate and volunteer throughout the holiday season.

Feeding Texas leads a unified effort for a hunger-free Texas. Our expertise in food banking, food insecurity / poverty, public nutrition programs and nutrition education is at your disposal.