Why Walk? - To Unite Against Hunger

• An estimated 275,000 Washington households live with hunger or the threat of hunger. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 2006
• Twelve and one-half percent to 19.7 percent of Seattle residents experience some degree of food insecurity, meaning the lack of resources prevented them from providing enough food for all members of the household. US Conference of Mayors 2007 Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness
• An average of just over 40,000 Washington children a day got free meals through summer feeding programs in 2005. That represents only 15 percent of the nearly half million children who get free and reduced price meals during the school year. Food Research and Action Center and the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2006
• Increases in the price of heating oil, gasoline and rents have resulted in increased numbers of people seeking food assistance. At the same time, the availability of assistance has decreased due to a sharp drop in the supply of foods from the federal commodities program and a decrease in food donations from supermarkets brought about by improved inventory tracking. New York Times, Nov. 30, 2007
• Immigrant children are disproportionately affected by hunger. Thirty-four percent of all children living in immigrant households worry about or encounter difficulties affording food as compared to 27 percent of non-immigrant households. Urban Institute, 2001
• Five thousand low-income Asian Pacific American households rely on the ACRS Food Bank and Nutrition Programs to get enough to eat.
• Sixty-nine percent of ACRS Food Bank clients are children under age 18 or elders over age 55.
• Using food purchased with Walk for Rice proceeds, ACRS creates ethnic, nutritious meals weekly for elders, people with disabilities and people who are hungry.
• The ACRS Food Bank is the third most-used food bank in King County, and it’s the only provider in the state that regularly distributes foods that meet Asian Pacific American dietary needs.
• Over 90 percent of the proceeds from Walk for Rice go directly towards purchasing much needed staples of Asian Pacific diets, such as rice, ramen, tofu, fish and Asian Pacific produce. The ACRS Food Bank distributes over 4,800 bags of food, including 13,000 pounds of rice, each month.