A Bay Area Food Bank survey reveals information about Gulf Coast hunger.
More than 250 partner agencies recently participated in Feeding America's National Hunger Study in which 600 people seeking food assistance answered detailed questions.
Here are the findings:
•More than 61,000 households in the food bank's 24-county service area receive food assistance from partner agencies.
•Most of those households sought assistance several times throughout the year.
•More than 70 percent of those households reported having to decide between food, utilities or rent to get by.
•More than 25,000 people weekly receive food assistance
•25 percent of those seeking food assistance struggle financially but make too much money to qualify for federal food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Bay Area Food Bank serves a 24-county area spanning the Florida Panhandle, South Alabama and South Mississippi.
Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks serving the United States.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New report reveals region's hunger statistics