A wise person once said, people with adequate food usually have lots of problems. Those who do not have enough to eat have but one problem.
Hunger in America spiked last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It didn't get any better in Oklahoma either. We ranked as the sixth hungriest state.
The number of Americans without dependable access to adequate food spiked to 49 million, including 17 million children. In 2007, that amounted to about 11 percent of the population. In 2008, the number increased to 15 percent.
While needs are up, the number of food donors is down. The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma reports donations are down about 17 percent while the numbers seeking help are up 19 percent. The food bank is feeding about 63,000 people each week through pantries, soup kitchens and emergency food centers.
The food ranking comes at a time when states also were ranked as to their healthiness. Oklahoma didn't fare much better in that one. We were ranked 49th, above only Mississippi by the United Health Foundation. Obesity, smoking and lack of exercise get most of the blame.
It's the lowest ranking ever for the state and quite the fall from our 33rd ranking in 1990. We were singled out as the state with the highest obesity rate in the nation. The Tulsa World reports by 2018, 56 percent of Oklahomans are projected to be overweight.
