Hunger was defined as the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food, or the recurrent and involuntary lack of access to food. Nationally, 9.7 percent were food insecure and 3.5 percent experienced hunger. Six targeted questions from the USDA survey were asked in HFA2000. The questions also revealed that 24 percent of households skipped or cut children s meals considered to be one of the most serious indicators of hunger. Those currently receiving food stamps find that the help they offer is limited 93 percent of survey respondents receiving food stamps said their monthly allotment ran out at least a week before the end of the month.
Health care can also be a major problem for low-income households.
Another 51 percent had someone in the household covered by the Oregon Health Plan. A quarter of the households surveyed had no health care coverage at all and 16 percent of households with children had no coverage for them. To determine the economic, social, health and other related factors that combine to create the need for food assistance for low income Oregonians, the Oregon Food Bank Network, with assistance from the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University, conducted the Hunger Factors 2000 study. The 3,329 surveys, representing a balanced statewide sampling, were completed and used for statistical analysis. Food goes from OFB to the agencies of the Oregon Food Bank Network, a cooperative statewide coalition of 18 independent regional food banks and two Oregon Food Bank distribution centers.