Food Hardship: Written by guest blogger Emily Moore

In a survey by the Food Research Action Committee, food hardship rate for the nation as a whole rose from 16.3 percent of respondent households in the first quarter of 2008 to 19.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 with the 2009 rate hovering between 17.9 and 18.8 percent.
Of the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 82 had 15 percent or more of respondents answering that they did not have enough money to buy needed food at times in the last 12 months. For the 50 largest MSAs, including Baltimore, 15 had more than one in four households with children reporting food hardship.

This measure, although separated from the day-to-day problems for providing food for families and individuals, indicates the large problem of lack of access to food in Baltimore. Furthermore, the food hardship rate reinstates the need for cheaper and more available fresh produce, where many must choose inexpensive and less healthy options.