In a society that often relies on social media and/or the internet for their daily news, it’s easy to see how misconceptions can quickly become “truth”. As a hunger relief organization, we see instances of this all the time as it pertains to the more than 174,000 people we serve each year.
One of these misconceptions, which is often accepted as the overall truth, is that those in need of food assistance are uneducated. The assumption is that these individuals and families must need assistance because they dropped out of school and therefore are unable to get a job necessary to support themselves. However, 63% of those that we serve have earned a high school diploma or GED.1 That isn’t to say that everyone we serve has a diploma or GED, but the majority do.
Unfortunately, often times it is other circumstances: job loss, health problems, etc. that cause those we serve to find themselves in need of assistance. Circumstances that none of us are immune to. So the next time you see or hear someone claiming that everyone receiving food help is uneducated, please be sure to share this bit of uplifting information with them.
12014 Feeding America Hunger Study
