U.S. hunger rate still at historic high

The number of Americans struggling with hunger remained stable in
2009 despite the economic downturn but at the highest recorded level,
according to new federal figures.

The U.S. Department of
Agriculture released statistics November 15 showing that one in seven
American households could not buy adequate food last year due to lack of
money and other resources.

The number of people suffering from
"food insecurity" increased only one-tenth of a percentage point from
2008, but that number is almost more than 4 percentage points higher
than it was ten years ago—and the highest since 1995.