For the second consecutive year, Texas had the second-highest rate of household food insecurity in the US according to a study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food insecurity increased both at the state and national level last year, Household Food Security in the United States in 2023 reported.

A household is considered food-insecure if its members at some time during the year lack the resources to acquire adequate food for everyone in the home.

The USDA reported 18 million households, about 47 million people, including 13 million children in the United States were food-insecure at some point in 2023.

The report from the USDA Economic Research Service showed the prevalence of food insecurity in Texas was 16.9% last year, second only to Arkansas at 18.9%. The rate of food insecurity in Texas increased by 1.4% from the previous year.

In addition to Texas and Arkansas, the other states where the prevalence of food insecurity was higher than the national average were Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

“The new USDA report on the staggering food insecurity rates in Texas affirms the sounding alarm that the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering has been responding to from hunger relief ministries across the state,” said Irene Gallegos, director of hunger and care ministries with Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission.

“In recent visits to Hunger Offering-supported ministries in Decatur, Edinburg, Palestine and Abilene, the resounding echo among ministry leaders is the limited food in area food banks and the new faces accessing food resources.

“I hear hunger relief heroes across the state sharing that the face of poverty is changing and families with employment simply do not earn enough wages to pay for basic household expenses.”

She pointed to some ministries that receive Texas Baptist Hunger Offering funds specifically Azle Community Caring Center, Heart of the City in Lewisville and Brother Bill’s Helping Hands in Dallas that serve more than 800 families a week.

“Another Hunger Offering-supported ministry, The Mustard Seed Cafe in El Paso once served an average of 50 meals daily and made space accommodations to now serve 400 to 500 meals daily,” Gallegos said.

The offering strategically partners with ministries in some South Texas counties that have significantly high food-insecurity rates, such as Cameron County at 21.9% and Hidalgo County at 22.9%, she added.

Also Read: When God Looks on Us with Favour