Study: 12 Million American Families Went Hungry in 2003

More than 12 million American families either didn't have enough food or worried about someone in the family going hungry last year, the Agriculture Department said Friday. Thirty-six million people experienced or worried about hunger.  Hunger-relief advocates said the figure, about the same as the previous year, showed a lack of progress. A department spokeswoman pointed to government efforts to sign up more people for food and nutrition assistance programs.  Under this report, a single day of being hungry in the past year gets you counted,CBS News Radio reporter Lou Milianoreported. On any given day in the U.S., this report says hungry households can number as high as nearly 700,000. And as many as 37,000 households with children are starve on a given day  About 12.6 million families, or 11.2 percent of all U.S. households, had at least one member who went hungry or worried about hunger at some time last year, said the department's "food security" report, which was released as millions of people made plans for next week's Thanksgiving holiday feast. [more]