10 Surprising American Cities Where People are Starving

This is shocking in America.

37 million Americans struggle with hunger each day. These are in households where families earn about $25k a year. Nationally, almost one in four American households reported being food insecure at some point last year.

56% of these food insecure households participate in at least one major federal food assistance program - mostly SNAP, free lunch at school, or food pantries.

Which is terrible, since we’re pretty much the best economy in the world.

Now the cities we’re going to talk about have higher unemployment rates, and are places where there are a higher proportion of poor, single parent households, where folks live on disability, and with communities where people have less than a high school education.

These are the hunger capitals of America. Sadly these are only a handful of them.

Birmingham, Alabama

Our journey begins in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Like every city we’re going to discuss, Birmingham is a poor city, where many, many households remain in poverty.

The food hardship percentage in Birmingham is a whopping 30%. That means that 3 in 10 families here in Birmingham didn’t have enough money to buy food within the last year. Which is sad. And as a whole, within the entire state of Alabama, 7% of households are unsure where their next meal will come from.

San Francisco, California

Our next stop is in San Francisco, a city which we talk about a lot. For a long time, this has been one of the most expensive cities in the nation. But recent gentrification means a lot of people with low paying jobs can’t afford to live here.

Because of the huge demand for food assistance here, about a third of the requests for emergency food go unmet. Which means, the government, and the non-profits here can’t keep up with demand.

Winston Salem, North Carolina

A city that you might not have heard much about - Winston Salem - has been having a really hard time with food insecurity. This North Carolina city an hour east of Charlotte has seen its food insecurity numbers climb of late - and currently, 35% of residents here face food hardship.

In fact, North Carolina and Louisiana are now the top states for hunger in children ages under 4. A Winston-Salem based organization called HOPE has organized the community here. Volunteer residents prepare meals at home, and church groups also take part. The food is then distributed to families on weekends.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Moving on, we come to the city of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia. The second largest city on the East Coast has a great deal of poverty and economic deprivation.

Many have pointed out that the aggressive gentrification here has pushed the poor out of popular areas and into new neighborhoods. But that problem creates homelessness and additional poverty.

Fresno, California

Ironically, Fresno, California, the heart of the agriculture center of the west coast, has a ton of people who are starving. Like, they’re growing food in every corner of the California central valley, but a third of families here struggle acquiring it. And many of the families who are struggling to eat are the ones out picking the crops.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Beyond the glitz and glamour of cheap buffets and free drinks on the Strip is a very large population of residents who are simply starving. 31% of Las Vegas residents go hungry each week, and 1 in 8 households do.

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a very poor place, so unsurprisingly, many of its residents are hungry each night. An enormous percentage (73%) of all residents here who need food assistance live at or beneath the poverty line. As a whole here, a third of the city is under food hardship.

Orlando, Florida
With a third of residents facing food hardship, Orlando ranks as the city with the third highest rate of food insecurity.

Nearly one out of every three Florida households with kids reported not having enough money to buy food. And 90% of the people in central Florida who visit Florida food banks aren’t homeless. They are people struggling to keep up with their bills each month. Many of them have to pick between buying food or keeping the lights on. Or gas in the car.

Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Eastern Arkansas certainly has issues when it comes to food insecurity.

Memphis, Tennessee

These places could use your help:
https://www.feedingamerica.org/
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/
https://www.bread.org/about-bread-world-institute
https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/
https://www.nokidhungry.org/
https://www.fh.org/

The best video on this topic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbv5mc-pOWM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7qnfCPSdzo