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Political Perspectives
OP-ED: Defining Food Insecurity in Wyoming
Two weeks ago, Governor Gordon signed an executive order authorizing $3 million to spend on the SUN Bucks Summer Nutrition Program, funding meals for low-income Wyoming children. Gordon doesn't say what food insecurity data he is using when he states that "one in every five children face food insecurity." But he probably based this off of the ubiquitous "Food Insecurity" map from Feeding America, generated using USDA data. "Food insecurity" counterintuitively, does always mean "hunger."
The US Department of Agriculture's 2024 Household Food Security report contains some startling information in its survey of American households at 185% of the federal poverty level or below. In 2024, 75.3% of such low-income households reported "having enough of the kinds of food we want to eat," while 20.0% of low-income households said there was "enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat." Only 5.0% of low-income households said there was "sometimes (or often) not enough to eat."
Wyoming residents have a slightly lower poverty rate than the US as a whole, so we can expect food insecurity to be a little lower than the country as a whole. But for argument's sake, let's assume hunger is proportional to the US. Of Wyoming's 124,191 children ages 17 or younger in the 2024 Census survey, 33,772 were at 185% of the federal poverty line or below. Using the national percentages, a conservative estimate suggests 90,419 higher-income children and 25,430 low-income Wyoming children were always getting enough food that they wanted to eat. 6,754 of low-income children were not getting the types of foods they wanted to eat (5.4% of all children). And 1,621 low-income children were often or sometimes not getting enough to eat (1.3% of all children).
"Enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat" can mean vastly different things for different people. While it could mean buying cheaper less healthy food, it could also mean buying store brands rather than name brands or preparing meals at home rather than fast food.
Because of the inherent obfuscation of the USDA's survey questions (perhaps deliberate desire to justify increased government spending), we really don't know how many Wyoming children are actually going hungry. It could indeed be much closer to the 1-in-75 (1.3%) of children who reported not having enough to eat. Not the "one in five" (20%) figure the Governor references.
The Wyoming Department of Family Services estimates that 30,000 children will qualify their household to receive $120 in vouchers for the program. This is over eighteen times the minimum number of "sometimes or often" hungry children and more than three times the maximum number of hungry children.
Wyoming's tradition of helping the most unfortunate goes back to its adoption of Article 16 of its Constitution which lists "necessary support of the poor" as a legitimate use of government funding. By adopting a more stringent policy, we can help those who truly need it, while preserving the dignity of those who provide for their families.
The US Department of Agriculture's 2024 Household Food Security report contains some startling information in its survey of American households at 185% of the federal poverty level or below. In 2024, 75.3% of such low-income households reported "having enough of the kinds of food we want to eat," while 20.0% of low-income households said there was "enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat." Only 5.0% of low-income households said there was "sometimes (or often) not enough to eat."
Wyoming residents have a slightly lower poverty rate than the US as a whole, so we can expect food insecurity to be a little lower than the country as a whole. But for argument's sake, let's assume hunger is proportional to the US. Of Wyoming's 124,191 children ages 17 or younger in the 2024 Census survey, 33,772 were at 185% of the federal poverty line or below. Using the national percentages, a conservative estimate suggests 90,419 higher-income children and 25,430 low-income Wyoming children were always getting enough food that they wanted to eat. 6,754 of low-income children were not getting the types of foods they wanted to eat (5.4% of all children). And 1,621 low-income children were often or sometimes not getting enough to eat (1.3% of all children).
"Enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat" can mean vastly different things for different people. While it could mean buying cheaper less healthy food, it could also mean buying store brands rather than name brands or preparing meals at home rather than fast food.
Because of the inherent obfuscation of the USDA's survey questions (perhaps deliberate desire to justify increased government spending), we really don't know how many Wyoming children are actually going hungry. It could indeed be much closer to the 1-in-75 (1.3%) of children who reported not having enough to eat. Not the "one in five" (20%) figure the Governor references.
The Wyoming Department of Family Services estimates that 30,000 children will qualify their household to receive $120 in vouchers for the program. This is over eighteen times the minimum number of "sometimes or often" hungry children and more than three times the maximum number of hungry children.
Wyoming's tradition of helping the most unfortunate goes back to its adoption of Article 16 of its Constitution which lists "necessary support of the poor" as a legitimate use of government funding. By adopting a more stringent policy, we can help those who truly need it, while preserving the dignity of those who provide for their families.
Wyoming Liberty Group
P.O. Box 9 • Burns, WY 82053
Phone: (307) 632-7020