Congregations have long supported food pantries, soup kitchens, outreach programs, and other responses to hunger. The available statistics show both changing participation by congregations and persistent food insecurity among U.S. households. The figures below cover 1998–2012 congregational trends, program surveys from 2007 and 2010, Presbyterian responses in 2020, and national food-security measures for 2023.
Contents
- National trends in food insecurity and congregational provision
- African-American congregations and neighborhoods
- Urban and poor-neighborhood assistance
- Food-assistance formats and program reach
- Direct, joint, and emergency-era responses
- The 2023 food-insecurity context
National trends in food insecurity and congregational provision
The National Congregations Study food-provision series measures whether a congregation participated in or supported a food-provision program during the previous 12 months. It does not measure the number of meals, households, or pounds of food distributed. Within that definition, participation moved unevenly across the measured years.
According to National Trends in Food Insecurity and Congregation-Based Food Provision between 1998 and 2012, food insecurity affected 11.8% of U.S. households in 1998, 10.9% in 2006, and 14.5% in 2012. Over the same years, 33.3% of U.S. congregations participated in food-provision programs in 1998, 24.5% did so in 2006, and 40.3% did so in 2012. These are national survey percentages for separate years, not a count of meals or an estimate of program capacity. National Trends in Food Insecurity and Congregation-Based Food Provision between 1998 and 2012
| Year | U.S. households food insecure | U.S. congregations in food provision |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 11.8% | 33.3% |
| 2006 | 10.9% | 24.5% |
| 2012 | 14.5% | 40.3% |
The series therefore places congregational activity alongside household need without treating the two measures as directly equivalent. A higher participation percentage indicates that more congregations reported participating in or supporting food provision; it does not establish how much assistance each congregation supplied or how many food-insecure households it reached.
African-American congregations and neighborhoods
The same study reports distinct patterns for predominantly African-American congregations and households. In this dataset, a predominantly African-American congregation is one in which at least 80% of regular participants were African-American. Food insecurity affected 24.3% of African-American households in 1998, 21.8% in 2006, and 24.6% in 2012.
Participation in food-provision programs among predominantly African-American congregations was 22.8% in 1998, 16.7% in 2006, and 41.2% in 2012. The 2012 participation figure was the highest of the three measured years for this subgroup, while the household food-insecurity percentages remained above the corresponding national figures reported in the same study. National Trends in Food Insecurity and Congregation-Based Food Provision between 1998 and 2012
The study also examined congregations located in predominantly African-American census tracts, defined there as tracts that were at least 80% African-American. Food-provision participation in these congregations was 24.6% in 1998, 21.7% in 2006, and 27.1% in 2012. These neighborhood figures describe congregational participation by location; they are not household food-insecurity rates for the tracts.
Taken together, the subgroup statistics show why congregation-based assistance should be read with attention to both congregation composition and neighborhood context. The percentages for predominantly African-American congregations and predominantly African-American neighborhoods measure different populations and should not be combined.
Urban and poor-neighborhood assistance
Urban households had food-insecurity rates of 16.4% in 1998, 13.2% in 2006, and 16.9% in 2012, according to the National Congregations Study analysis. Congregations in urban areas participated in food-provision programs at rates of 37.1% in 1998, 28.8% in 2006, and 42.8% in 2012. The study’s urban category is based on urban census tracts, so these measures concern congregations situated in those areas rather than every congregation serving an urban resident.
The food-insecurity rates were higher among very-low-income U.S. households: 38.1% in 1998, 36.3% in 2006, and 40.9% in 2012. In poor neighborhoods, defined in the study as neighborhoods with at least 30% of residents below the Federal Poverty Level, 21.7% of congregations participated in food-provision programs in 1998, 17.7% in 2006, and 45.6% in 2012. National Trends in Food Insecurity and Congregation-Based Food Provision between 1998 and 2012
| Population or setting | 1998 | 2006 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban household food insecurity | 16.4% | 13.2% | 16.9% |
| Very-low-income household food insecurity | 38.1% | 36.3% | 40.9% |
| Urban congregations in food provision | 37.1% | 28.8% | 42.8% |
| Poor-neighborhood congregations in food provision | 21.7% | 17.7% | 45.6% |
These comparisons distinguish household need from congregational participation. They also show that the 2012 participation percentage for poor-neighborhood congregations was higher than the corresponding 1998 and 2006 figures, while very-low-income household food insecurity was also highest in 2012 among the three reported years.
Food-assistance formats and program reach
The KCCS 2007 Data Archive gives more detail about the formats congregations reported offering for low-income people and others in need. In that 2007 archive, 45.6% reported offering food pantries, 10.5% reported offering a soup kitchen, and 14.3% reported street outreach, including mobile food units. A further 9.9% reported none of the listed ministries for low-income people and others in need. KCCS 2007 Data Archive: Ministries, services, or programs for low-income people and others in need
These categories describe reported program types in the archive. They should not be read as mutually exclusive shares: a congregation could report more than one format. The figures also do not quantify operating frequency, food volume, staffing, or the number of people served.
A 2012 update from the National Congregations Study adds a measure of priority. Congregations and Social Services: An Update from the Third Wave of the National Congregations Study reports that 52% of all congregations listed feeding the hungry among their four most important social-service programs. Among congregations active in social service, the share was 63%. Congregations and Social Services: An Update from the Third Wave of the National Congregations Study
The difference between the all-congregation and social-service-active figures matters. The 63% figure applies to the subset already described as active in social service, while the 52% figure applies to all congregations in the reported measure. Neither percentage indicates how many people received assistance.
Direct, joint, and emergency-era responses
The 2010 Evangelical Frequencies survey separates direct service from joint service. It reports that 43% of congregations provided a food pantry or soup kitchen directly, while 24% provided one together with another congregation or group. The same survey reports that 34% had no food pantry or soup-kitchen service. 2010 National Survey of Congregations: Evangelical Frequencies
Another 2010 source, American Congregations 2010: The Holy Toll, reports that more than 70% of congregations in FACT2010 provided or contributed to food programs. Because the source uses “provided or contributed,” its measure is broader than a direct-service category and should be kept separate from the Evangelical Frequencies figures. American Congregations 2010: The Holy Toll — The Impact of the 2008 Recession on American Congregations
The COVID-19 report on Presbyteries and 1001 New Worshiping Communities records several 2020 responses among the Presbyterian congregations surveyed. Thirty-two percent expanded an existing food-distribution program, 7% started a food-distribution program, and 4% served or delivered food to first responders. Eighteen percent said their congregation had not responded to local virus-related needs. These percentages describe that survey and period; they are not a national measure of all congregations. COVID-19: Presbyteries & 1001 New Worshiping Communities
The 2023 food-insecurity context
USDA’s Food Security in the U.S. – Key Statistics & Graphics reports that 86.5% of U.S. households, or 114.6 million households, were food secure throughout 2023. At some time during that year, 13.5% of households, or 18.0 million households, were food insecure. Very low food security affected 5.1%, or 6.8 million households, while low food security affected 8.4%, or 11.2 million households. In total, 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure U.S. households in 2023. Food Security in the U.S. – Key Statistics & Graphics
Households with children experienced additional distinctions in the USDA figures. In 2023, 82.1% of U.S. households with children, or 29.7 million households, were food secure, while 17.9%, or 6.5 million households, were food insecure. Food insecurity affected only adults in 9.0%, or 3.3 million, of households with children and affected both children and adults in 8.9%, or 3.2 million. About 1.0%, or 374,000 households, had one or more children with reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns. Food Security in the U.S. – Key Statistics & Graphics
The same USDA source reports that 12.2 million adults lived in households with very low food security in 2023. It reports 7.2 million children living in households where children and adults were food insecure, and 841,000 children, or 1.2% of the nation’s children, living in households where one or more children experienced very low food security.
Geography also shaped the 2023 context. USDA’s Rural households accounted for nearly one-sixth of U.S. food-insecure households in 2023 reports food insecurity among 15.4% of rural households. Rural households represented 15.9% of all food-insecure U.S. households. Food insecurity affected 11.7% of suburban and exurban households near principal cities, which represented 38.8% of all food-insecure households. In principal U.S. cities, 15.9% of households were food insecure, and those households represented 33.2% of all food-insecure U.S. households. Rural households accounted for nearly one-sixth of U.S. food-insecure households in 2023
For congregations, these figures provide a current national context for food assistance without measuring congregational outputs. The historical surveys show how participation and service formats were reported in specific periods; the USDA figures show the scale and distribution of household food insecurity in 2023.