A snapshot of hunger in Brown County, including food security and pantry usage statistics and low-income families' barriers to accessing nutritious food.

1. What Does Hunger
in Brown County
Look Like?
March 2012

2. How much has food pantry usage increased
over the past three years?

3. ANSWER: About 21%
About how many households use
food pantries in Brown County
every month?

4. ANSWER: 5,860 households
What do we know about their food
security status?

5. Food Security Status of Households
That Use Food Pantries
• 7% High Food Security: No problem with food
access.
• 11% Marginal Food Security: Some anxiety over
food shortage but no change in diet or in food
intake.
• 44% Low Food Security: Changes made of
reduced quality, variety or desirability of the diet
but not in food intake.
• 38% Very Low Food Security: Multiple
indications of disrupted eating patterns and
reduced food intake.

6. Who are people using food pantries in Brown
County?
CHILDREN
• 50% have children
between 5 and 27
• 30% have children
under 5 years old
• 20 % have no children

7. Who are people using food pantries in Brown
County?
ETHNICITY
• The majority of households are Caucasian at
58%.
• The largest minority group is Hispanic at 20%.
• The remaining 22% are other ethnic
minorities (NA 8%, AA 7%, other).
Caucasian
22%
20% 58% Hispanic
Other Ethnic Minorities

8. Who are people using food pantries in Brown
County?
EDUCATION
• 30% more than high school
• 37% high school graduate
or GED
• 18% 9th – 10th grade
• 15% less than 9th grade

9. Who are people using food pantries in Brown
County?
EMPLOYMENT
• 60% of households have working adults
living there. However, having a job does
not improve food security among pantry
users.
• 17% make below minimum wage
• 59% make between $7.50 and $12.00 an
hour – this is considered the living wage
for one single adult. For one adult with
one child in childcare, the living wage is
$17.05.

10. Other than not having enough money for food,
what are the most common reasons people report
not having enough food?
• 37% Not able to get to pantry
during open hours
• 35% Have no car
• 25% Bus costs too much
• 23% Bus doesn’t go
where they need it
• 22% It’s too hard to
get to the store
• 20% Have no grocery
store in the area

11. What other kinds of food assistance are used by
pantry shoppers?
• 51% Friends and relatives
• 44% Free or reduced school lunch
• 38.5% Free or reduced school breakfast
• 26% Summer lunches in the park
• 24.8% Community meal sites
• 49.8% Receive FoodShare
(up from 42.8% in 2004)

12. Why don’t more people receive
FoodShare if they are using a pantry?
• 43% don’t think they are eligible.
• 31% applied but are not eligible. Asset
limit includes savings and retirement,
recently unemployed.
• 20% don’t need them, don’t want them
or don’t know how to apply.
• 13% don’t know about food stamps.

13. How important is it to choose a diet with 5 or
more servings of fruit and vegetables?
73% of respondents said they
should eat more fruits and
vegetables

14. Reasons People do not eat the Recommended Amount of
Vegetables and Fruits

15. What are the most common strategies used
by people to have enough money for food?
• 49% borrowing from friends
• 37% neglecting health care needs
• 35% not paying rent on time
• 23% use payday loan services
• 18% got another job
• 17% live with another household

16. What would help people have enough
money for food?
• 59% affordable housing
• 40% learning how to budget money
• 40% garden space to grow food
• 37.5% having a grocery store nearby
• 31.6% improved transportation
• 29% help applying for FoodShare
• 21.5% learning how to prepare foods
• 14.6% affordable childcare