Hunger and Food Insecurity
What is hunger?
Hunger is the personal, physical sensation of discomfort from a lack of food. Hunger can also lead to a lack of concentration, irritability, and a host of social and behavioral issues — particularly in children. Individuals who are food insecure may experience hunger.
What is food insecurity?
Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. So, while hunger is related to food insecurity, food insecurity refers to a lack of available financial resources for food in a household.
Community Food Share uses the terms “hunger” and “food insecurity” interchangeably.
More Resources on Food Insecurity (National and International)
Hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties
Our service area includes Boulder and Broomfield Counties. The two counties are often considered to be quite wealthy — but hunger affects our neighbors here just like the rest of the state (and country).
46,000
people are hungry in Boulder and Broomfield Counties.
12%
of children are food insecure — that’s 9,000 children.
$4.00
is the average cost per meal — nearly 30% above the national average.
More Resources on Local Hunger
Boulder County TRENDS Report (Community Foundation Boulder County)
Map the Meal Gap, Boulder County (Feeding America)
Map the Meal Gap, Broomfield County (Feeding America)
Hunger in Colorado
In Colorado, more than 566,000 people are food insecure — and 147,120 of them are children.
1 in 9 children
struggles with hunger
1 in 10 people
may not know where to get their next meal
Individuals facing hunger in Colorado need, on average,
$573
more per year to meet food needs
Feeding Colorado: Colorado’s Five Food Banks
Community Food Share has four Feeding America sister food banks in Colorado: Care and Share Food Bank, Food Bank of the Rockies, Weld Food Bank, and Larimer County Food Bank. Together, we provide food for every county in the state and form the Feeding Colorado network.
We’re not the only ones fighting hunger in the state, however: hundreds of food pantries and other agencies are providing food for people in need (including our Partner Agencies).
More Resources on Statewide Hunger
Map the Meal Gap, Colorado (Feeding America)
Hunger in Colorado (Feeding America)
A Hungry Nation
Food insecurity affects every county in the United States. 38 million people are considered food insecure; of that number, 12 million are children.
More Resources on National Hunger
“America has a Hunger Problem” (The Atlantic)
“The New Face of Hunger” (National Geographic)
If you have additional questions about hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties, please contact:
Julia McGee, Director of Communications
jmcgee@communityfoodshare.org
(303) 652-3663 ext. 227