Report: Hoosier Food Insecurity Down, Still Higher Than National Average

Food insecurity in Indiana is down slightly according to an annual report from Feeding America but Hoosiers are still more likely to face hunger than the national average.

Statewide, 13.3 percent of Hoosiers are food insecure, for children that number goes up to 17.4 percent in this year’s Map the Meal Gap findings.  Every county in Indiana faces the problem. Marion County has the highest overall rate of 17.4 percent.

Executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, Emily Weikert Bryant says the number is down a bit.  

"It still isn’t reflective of what you’d expect with the economy and the unemployment numbers that we have," says Weikert Bryant. 

The data shows just more than one-third of food insecure people make just enough money and are ineligible for federal food assistance programs like SNAP. 

The analysis also details every county's rates for hungry children. In Grant County, 21 percent of children are food insecure. 

"Households with children tend to be more food insecure," says Weikert Bryant. 

The average meal cost $2.63 compared to $3 nationwide.