Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Millions More Americans Were Hit By Hunger In 2022 Than 2021
Reuters: Millions More Americans Were Food Insecure In 2022 Than 2021 - USDA
Millions more Americans had difficulty securing enough food in 2022 compared to the year prior, including 1 million more households with children, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed on Wednesday. The increase interrupted a years-long trend of declining hunger in the United States. Previous reports from food banks and the U.S. Census Bureau have indicated that hunger is increasing as low-income Americans struggle to recover from the pandemic and from the end of expanded food assistance. (Douglas, 10/25)
The Washington Post: Hunger Worsened Among U.S. Households In 2022, Report Finds
More than 44.2 million Americans lived in households that struggled with hunger in 2022, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Wednesday — an increase of 10.3 million over the previous year. The new figures, from the agency’s Economic Research Service, show an end to a nearly decade-long decrease in the number of families reporting food insecurity, at a time when food prices remain elevated because of inflation. (Reiley, 10/25)
In other news about hunger and poverty —
Grist: Community Fridges Don't Just Fight Hunger. They're Also A Climate Solution.
Dan Zauderer and his in-laws had eaten plenty of pizza one evening in early October, and they still had seven slices left. What to do? “Well, we could just chuck it,” Zauderer thought. Instead, he and his fiancée wrapped the slices in plastic wrap, slapped labels on them with the date, and walked the leftovers a little more than a block down the road to a refrigerator standing along 92nd Avenue in New York City’s Upper East Side. That fridge is one among many “community fridges” across the country that volunteers stock with free food — prepared meals, leftovers, and you name it. Zauderer had helped set a network up in New York City during the pandemic as a way to reduce waste and fight hunger. (Graham, 10/26)
Stat: WHO May Add ‘Noma' To Its List Of Neglected Tropical Diseases
It’s a disease of children living in extreme poverty. Its cause is uncertain. So is the number of children it affects. But soon, the devastating condition known as noma may be a bit less neglected. (Silberner, 10/25)
