• One in three food bank clients is children.
• 82 percent are not homeless
• Almost half have at least one working adult
• The elderly are especially vulnerable.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in November 2009 that an estimated 49 million people, including 17 million children, are at risk of hunger in this country.

Since the last study in 2006, the Capital Area Food Bank is serving 64 percent more clients.

David Davenport, with the Capital Area Food Bank, said the recession plays apart in the increase but that Texas also has the highest number of hunger children in the nation.

Insufficient nutrition has many adverse effects on children including physical, behavioral and academic performance.

“The recession and the economy have had a great deal to do with the increased number of clients,” said David Davenport, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “But the real story - before the recession began - is Texas led the nation in the percentage of children that lived on the brink on hunger that didn't know where they're next meal would come from.”

The Capital Area Food Bank is now teaming up with 350 other local non-profits to promote "Hunger is Unacceptable." There are steps our community can take to erase hunger.

"You have to make sure that those who are eligible for nutrition assistance programs are on those programs,” said Davenport. “Then, we have to make sure that those who aren't eligible receive food, programs and support.  It's all about our community embracing that hunger in unacceptable and acting on it that's going to sustain those efforts for the long haul."

The Capital Area Food Bank has been serving Central Texas for 29 years. In 2009, they distributed more than 23 million pounds of food. 

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