50 Percent of All Black Children Younger Than 6 Live in Poverty
Eric Mitchell, Director of Government Relations at Bread for the World
(Washington, DC, Wednesday, February 15, 2017) – February is African American History Month. African Americans are more likely to be food insecure and live in poverty than other Americans. While the United States has a high poverty rate (14.8 percent), according to the U.S. Census, African-Americans have a poverty rate of more than 26 percent. This rate is even higher in African-American female-headed households (42.6 percent).
African-Americans are more than four times as likely as whites to face what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls “very low food insecurity.” 50 percent of all black children younger than 6 live in poverty. Bread for the World has released a new time line of African American contributions to ending hunger and poverty.
What factors contribute to hunger and poverty in the African-American community?
· Lack of access to healthy and affordable food,
· Unemployment and low wages,
· Less access to quality and affordable education,
· Higher healthcare costs,
· Less access to credit,
· Higher debt levels,
· Higher levels of incarceration.