Did you know these Hunger Facts? Vermont and Washington County Facts - Philanthropist Badge

Hi Brownie parents,

Tonight, your Brownies worked on identifying "wants" and "needs" by dividing into groups and cutting out pictures in magazines to add to a "WANTS" poster and a "NEEDS" poster.  We learned that "wants" are easy to identify and that there are many "wants"!  We also learned that sometimes there seems to be a fine line between a want and a need (examples we discussed are cell phones and eye glasses).  

We only need 4 things to survive:

• A roof over your head
• Enough food and water to maintain your health
• Basic health care and hygiene habits
• Clothing (just what you need to remain comfortable and appropriately dressed)

Everything else is a "want", or something you would like to have.  (Big house vs. smaller house; gourmet meal vs. simple, healthy meal; soda vs. water; name-brand clothing vs. clothing that covers you appropriately and keeps you warm, etc.)

Hunger: The physical sensation of desiring food.  When politicians, relief workers and social scientists talk about people suffering from hunger, they usually refer to those people who, for sustained periods, are unable to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs.
They also learned the following about Vermont's statistics and definitions of Hunger.  From Hunger Free Vermont website:

What is Food Insecurity? 
Food insecurity is defined as the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources. Adults in households determined to be food insecure are so limited in resources that they are running out of food, reducing the quality of food their family eats, feeding their children unbalanced diets, or skipping meals so that their children can eat.

Food Insecurity in Vermont

• 85,000 Vermonters are food insecure (13% of all Vermont households)
• 25,400 Vermont children live in food insecure homes (21% of Vermont children)
• 7,800 Vermont seniors are living with food insecurity (6% of Vermont seniors)

The food insecurity data here are 3‐year averages, from 2010‐2012, from the Current
Population Survey of the United States Census.

The 2013 estimated population of Vermont is 626,630, according to the United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/50000.html

What is Food Insecurity with Hunger?
Households that are classified as food insecure with hunger are those food insecure homes in which adults have decreased the quality and quantity of food they consume to the point where
they are likely to be hungry on a frequent basis, or in which children’s intake has been reduced to the point that the children are likely to be hungry on a regular basis and adults’ food intake is severely reduced.

Food Insecurity with Hunger in Vermont

• 30,000 Vermonters living in food insecure homes struggle with hunger (5% of Vermonters) 
• 7,900 Vermont children live in households experiencing food insecurity with hunger (7% of Vermont children) 
• 3,800 Vermont seniors are food insecure with hunger (3% of Vermont seniors)

The food insecurity data here are 3‐year averages, from 2010‐2012, from the Current
Population Survey of the United States Census.

Washington County:

• 1 in 5 children in Washington County are food insecure

To see additional facts about Hunger in Vermont: 
http://www.hungerfreevt.org/learn/what-is-the-issue

To learn about Hunger statistics by county in Vermont: 
https://www.hungerfreevt.org/learn/statistics


To find a food shelf or get involved in helping to feed Vermont: 
http://www.vtfoodbank.org/