Invited editorial: The importance of dairy foods in helping impoverished people in the United States.

Poverty is a persistent problem in the United States and worldwide. In 2005, approximately 50 million people, or roughly 17% of the population, lived on less income than 125% of the federal poverty level in the United States (US Census Bureau; http://www.census. gov). Children were the poorest age group in the country—17.6% of all Americans under 18 were poor in 2005. But a much higher 42.8% of children living in a femaleheaded family with no husband present were poor. Poverty rates for African Americans (24.9%) and Hispanics (21.8%) were higher than for the population as a whole (US Census Bureau). Food insecurity and lack of appropriate nutrient intake are closely associated with poverty. (Food security is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle; persons who lack this access suffer from food insecurity.) According to a survey conducted in December 2004 by the USDA, 11.9% of US households experienced food insecurity sometime during the year preceding the survey (USDA, 2005). Of individuals experiencing food insecurity, 3.9% experienced food insecurity with hunger, although when food insecurity is accompanied by hunger in the United States, it is usually occasional or episodic, not chronic (USDA, 2005).