Nearly 16 pct Americans struggle to afford food: poll

In the first quarter of 2015, nearly 16 percent of Americans reported that in the past 12 months they had suffered from food insecurity, among which the blacks took up a large proportion, a new Gallup poll showed.

Among most key demographic groups, Americans in the age group 30-49 are most vulnerable to food crisis in the country, with 18.9 percent of people reporting that they had struggled to afford food in the past 12 months, according to the Gallup poll released on Friday.

About 18 percent of the country's young generation also reported a struggle to tackle food crisis, it showed.

In terms of race, African-Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to report experiencing difficulty affording food, with 27 percent of them reporting such a struggle.

African-Americans have long been disproportionately affected by poverty and food insecurity. According to Feeding America, a U.S. organization dedicated to fighting hunger in the country, they are the most vulnerable group to food insecurity in the country.

Earlier this year, a study by Bread for the World, a movement in the United States to end hunger, also depicted a bleak reality for the country's African-American community.

According to the study, though a decline in official unemployment rates during 2014 was responsible for a reduction in hunger in the country, African-Americans continue to experience jobless rates twice as high as the national average.

"This economic inequality manifests itself in disproportionately higher rates of hunger and poverty among communities of color, which affects children in particular," said the report.

Data showed that some 27.6 percent of African-Americans are considered to be living under the poverty line, and nearly 39 percent of those under 18 and 42.7 percent of children below five live in poverty. Endite