(NBC Affiliate) More than one out of ten Alaska households has trouble feeding the family. That's one suggestion made by a new report by the advocacy group the Food Research and Action Center.
Newscenter 11’s Seth Linden explains from Washington:
For many families, dining together may be a given. It's assumed food will be on the table. But for other families in Alaska, regular meals are a false assumption.
"About 11.5 percent of the families in Alaska are food insecure. And that's a government term that means that they can't meet their basic needs for food on a regular basis because they just don't have enough resources to buy the food that they need," said Lynn Parker, Food Research & Action Center.
In its new report, the Food Research and Action Center analyzes federal data, and what FRAC discovered is not only are nearly 12 percent of Alaska households food insecure, more than a third of those households have experienced hunger.
"They're going without food for a day. They're skipping meals, reducing the size of their children's meals. Kids are going to bed hungry," said Parker.
The good news is, the center says, the state of Alaska is doing work to try and stop the hunger problem. More families are taking advantage of resources like the food stamp program.
While some might argue an increase in food stamps is a reason for concern, the group says more people who are eligible are being helped. In fiscal year 2004, individual food stamp participation in Alaska was up more than 30 percent over the previous 4 years.
Like others in Washington, FRAC is concerned about proposed cuts in President Bush's 2006 budget. FRAC is worried that if those cuts go through, families won't get the help they need in order to eat.
"He's proposing to take 300,000 children and parents from working families out of the Food Stamp Program," remarked Jim Weill, Food Research & Action Center.
The center says nutrition programs are the best way to deal with hunger and now is not the time to make cuts. The center says Alaska still could do a better job improving participation in the school breakfast program, as well as the summer nutrition program for children.