Food insecurity? Five things to know in the Dayton area

Thousands of people in the Miami Valley don’t know where their next meal is coming from, according to a report from the nonprofit group Feeding America.

The report — called Map the Meal Gap — details food insecurity across the nation using U.S. Department of Agriculture data, including data from the Dayton area, which is reportedly worse off than the national average.

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A household is food insecure, according to the report, if there is not access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.

Here are five things to know about food insecurity in the Dayton area:

1. Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties are more food insecure than average, according to the report. Combined, the counties have a 16.8 percent food insecurity rate. The national average is 12.7 percent.

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2. One in six people in the Miami Valley don't know where there next meal is coming from, according to the report. Nationally, one in eight individuals lived in households without consistent access to food.

3. Locally, one in five children are food insecure, the report states. Nationally, one in six children are without consistent access to adequate food.

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4. The rate of food insecurity in the Miami Valley decreased less than half a percent, according to the report. Across the nation, the total number of people estimated as food insecure has decreased.

5. Single parents tend to have higher rates of food insecurity, the national data show. Additionally, households headed by Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic minorities and low-income households tend to be more insecure, as well, according to the report.

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