Hunger Survey
American voters care about the issue of hunger much more than is generally acknowledged in political dialogues.
Results and Analysis of Recent National Public Opinion Polling - June 5, 2003
Sponsored by Sodexo
I. Current Political Context: American voters care about the issue of hunger much more than is generally acknowledged in political dialogues.
Asked what issue was "most important" to them in deciding their vote for the House and Senate, 7.7% identified the problem of hunger and poverty.
More than 74 percent of likely voters said the issue is "important" to them in deciding whom they will vote for president in 2004.
Nearly 64 percent of voters also said that they would be less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who favored cutting the food stamp program.
II. Voter Attitudes Generally: Voters do not seem to hold poor and hungry people responsible for their condition.
More than 59% of voters said people were generally hungry due to circumstances beyond their control.
And 72.7% of voters said families "really needed anti-hunger programs" and could not get along without them.
More than 43% of voters said there were hungry people in their own communities who do not have enough to eat.
Many more voters see the hunger problem in the US as getting worse rather than getting better, 37.8% as opposed to 17.6%, with 33.4% saying it has remained the same.
III. Attitudes Towards the Global Hunger Problem:
When asked if the United States should do more or less to "solve world hunger" 37.1% said we should do more while only 13.1% said the U.S. should "do less."
More than 64% of voters said we had a "moral obligation" to try and reduce hunger throughout the world.
IV. New Efforts and Ideas to Reduce Hunger: Voters are more likely to support a candidate for Congress who support new and innovative anti-hunger programs.
The summer feeding program itself was seen approvingly by more than 68% of likely voters.
When voters were told that 9 million children do not receive summer feeding, despite the fact they need school lunches during the school year, 74.9% of voters supported a new summer program.
Almost equally popular to voters was the idea of expanding the school breakfast program - 75% of voters endorsed such an idea and only 17.8% of voters opposed it.
Conclusion:
This report offers fresh evidence that American voters want their political candidates and governmental system to do more to take on the problem of hunger.
It demonstrates that Americans care deeply about the issue, are willing to spend governmental resources on it, and will reward candidates who propose new ideas to improve the current situation.
It shows that policymakers faced with difficult choices would do well to give anti-hunger programs a high priority.
It also shows that presidential candidates could earn support by making innovative proposals in this area.
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