AUSTIN-– 21.8 percent of Texans (or 1 in 5 people) reported not having enough money to buy food at some point during the prior twelve months, according to a new report released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

The report provides data on “food hardship” – the inability to afford enough food – for every region, every state, every Congressional District, and 100 of the country’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), including Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. The report found that Texas ranked 9th in food hardship among survey respondents, and had a higher rate than the Southwest region.

At the same time that this report exposes rampant food hardship in Texas and across the nation, Congress is poised to cut the very programs that help our nation fight hunger. “It is unacceptable that so many people across Texas are struggling to afford enough food to provide for their families,” said Celia Cole, CEO of the Texas Food Bank Network (TFBN). “These numbers show us that we must strengthen our nation’s safety net. We can’t afford to leave one-fifth of Texans behind.”

The report analyzed data collected by Gallup and provided to FRAC. The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has been interviewing almost 1,000 households daily since January 2008. FRAC analyzed responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

The full report is available at FRAC.org. The Texas Food Bank Network provides a unified voice among food banks in support of their common mission to end hunger in Texas. Learn more at TFBN.org.