What's Causing the Current Hunger Crisis

Rising food prices are taking an immense toll on the world's poorest people, who typically spend up to 80 percent of their income on food. Global food prices have nearly doubled in the past three years, with recent spikes in the prices of rice, wheat, corn and soy. In Haiti, more and more people are relying on mud cookies to sustain themselves. Riots there have forced the resignation of the prime minister. Worries and anger over food prices have led to social unrest in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Even before this crisis, the numbers of people around the world who go to bed hungry every night were staggering. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 854 million people around the world were hungry last year. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – one child every five seconds. Now, according to the World Bank, as many as 100 million more poor people could fall further into poverty due to this burgeoning hunger crisis. After 30 years of progress against hunger and poverty, that's a setback the United States and the rest of the world cannot afford to let happen.

In the United States, low-income households are also feeling the impact. Last year, one in 10 households experienced hunger or was at risk of hunger. But several things have come together to worsen the situation:

• higher food prices, particularly since the beginning of 2007;
• rapidly rising fuel prices;
• the subprime mortgage crisis;
• tighter credit for most borrowers; and,
• higher unemployment rates.

Food pantries are seeing a substantial increase in the number of people seeking food, even as their supplies are decreasing and food banking costs surge. The U.S. government estimates that 28 million Americans will be using food stamps this year, the highest level since the program began in the 1960s.

Addressing this crisis will involve both short-term and long-term solutions. But people are going hungry today, and Congress and the president can and should take immediate action to help them now.

Find out more about the crisis and what is being said in the news.