750,000 low-income adults in Los Angeles County live with hunger

Jun 7 2004

More than three-quarters of a million low-income adults in Los Angeles County live with hunger or make daily decisions about whether to eat or pay for other essential needs such as shelter or clothing, according to a new UCLA Center for Health Policy Research report.

Compiled with data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), the report estimates 214,000 low-income adults in Los Angeles County suffer from hunger, and 561,000 more live at risk of hunger day to day. Among the county's ethnic populations, food insecurity — hunger or risk of hunger — among low-income adults is most common among African American adults (36.1 percent), followed by Latinos (33.2 percent), Asians (25.4 percent) and whites (20.9 percent).

In addition to the countywide data, the report estimates food insecurity within the eight service planning areas managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and for all 26 health districts contained within those planning areas. The Antelope Valley has the highest rate of food insecurity among low-income adults (38.5 percent), and the West planning area — which includes Santa Monica and West Los Angeles — the lowest (22.5 percent). The San Fernando Valley, the most populous planning area, has the highest number of low-income adults living with food insecurity (129,000).

Funded by the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, the report looks at food insecurity findings below the county level, down to the health district. This report shows that high food insecurity rates are found throughout the county, not just in the inner cities.

"Our findings show that hunger exists in every corner of Los Angeles County, exacting a psychological and economic toll that reaches well beyond afflicted families," said Charles DiSogra, lead investigator, senior research scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and director of the California Health Interview Survey. "The key to addressing the problem is the integration and growth of the patchwork of food banks, charitable food programs, and federal, state, county, city and school programs that comprise a sometimes unreliable safety net against hunger and the risk of hunger."

Michael Flood, executive director of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank and a partner in the research, said the demand for emergency food assistance in Los Angeles County has increased each year of the 30-year history of the organization.

"We are seeing increased food insecurity not only in traditionally low-income areas, but also in growing areas of the county like the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys," Flood said. "We hope the results of this report will prompt local, state and federal officials to recognize the magnitude of this problem and the need for food assistance among their constituencies."

Los Angeles County, the state's most populous, is home to about one-third of California's low-income adults, or 2.6 million. For the purposes of this report, low-income adults were defined as living below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. A family of four with income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level earns less than $36,200 per year.

Lack of assured access to enough food through socially acceptable means is termed "food insecurity" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food insecurity may result in hunger — going without food — or risk of hunger.

Among the report's findings:

• Employment is no assurance against food insecurity, which affects 29.9 percent of low-income adults with jobs. Among low-income adults who are unemployed and actively seeking work, the rate of food insecurity reached 39.4 percent.
• Low-income adults living in a household with children have a higher prevalence of food insecurity than adults who live in a household without children (31.6 percent vs. 27.6 percent).
• About half of the low-income adults in Los Angeles County say they speak English well or very well, and half say they are not proficient. The non-proficient group has a significantly higher proportion of food-insecure low-income adults (35.9 percent) than the English-proficient group (25.5 percent).
• Only one out of four low-income adults in Los Angeles County who report hunger receive food stamp assistance (24.9 percent).

Other UCLA Center for Health Policy Research investigators involved in the report on hunger in Los Angeles County were Wei Yen, a senior research scientist and California Health Interview Survey associate director, and Anthony Ramirez, a research associate and technical assistance coordinator for the California Health Interview Survey.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, established in 1994, is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers and the premier source of key health policy information for California. Directed by E. Richard Brown, the center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is also affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research.

The California Health Interview Survey is a collaboration of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute. The California Department of Health Services, the California Endowment, the National Cancer Institute, the California Children and Families Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Indian Health Services provided major funding for the survey.