America’s Hunger Bill: The Suffering We All Pay For

On Thursday, October 6, at 12:30 p.m. EST, Half in Ten and the Center for American Progress will co-host a webinar to release a new paper from CAP Senior Fellow Donna Cooper and Brandeis University Professor Donald Shepard on the cost of hunger to the U.S. economy. Click here to register.

The webinar, “America’s Hunger Bill: The Suffering We All Pay For,” which will feature remarks from Donna Cooper and Donald Shepard, will address topics including: how hunger impacts the economy; the cost of hunger to different states in the country; detailed information on the educational costs of hunger; and next steps advocates can take to incorporate this new data into their advocacy efforts to end hunger.

The Great Recession caused a dramatic rise in the number of Americans who are suffering from hunger or food insecurity. Federal and state programs have done a great deal to keep starvation at bay but the rising incidence of hunger exacts a very large cost to society. Hungry individuals get sick more often, which imposes costs on our health care system and lost productivity at work. Children who are food insecure are absent from school and drop out more often than their peers. They increase the cost of special education and decrease their earning potential over their lifetime. Thursday’s webinar will share the findings from the new report, “Hunger in America: Suffering We All Pay For,” which tallies these and other costs.

Every American is paying for a quickly rising hunger bill. Register today to learn what you can do to help!