Impact · 3 min read

Why practical care is one of the three areas

Millions of US households had trouble affording enough food in 2024. What federal data says about hardship, in the country and in New Mexico.

Practical care is one of the three areas the proceeds from Human Hope Daily plans are meant for. The foundation’s purpose statement speaks of individuals and families in need. This article looks at two measures of that need published by federal agencies: food insecurity and poverty.

Food insecurity in the United States

The US Department of Agriculture’s report on household food security in 2024 draws on a Census Bureau survey carried out in December 2024. The survey covered 32,719 households. It asked one adult in each household about experiences such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals, or being hungry because there was too little money for food.

A household counts as food insecure if, at some time during the year, it had difficulty providing enough food for all its members because of a lack of resources.

In 2024, 13.7 percent of US households were food insecure. That is 18.3 million households. About 47.9 million people lived in them, including 14.1 million children. The rate was not statistically different from the 13.5 percent recorded in 2023.

The more severe category is very low food security. In those households, some members ate less and normal eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because resources were limited. In 2024 that described 5.4 percent of US households.

Children are counted separately. In 9.1 percent of households with children, about 3.3 million households, the children themselves were food insecure at times during 2024.

Food insecurity in New Mexico

State figures are published as three-year averages. For 2022 to 2024, 14.5 percent of New Mexico households were food insecure, against 13.3 percent for the country. The state figure carries a margin of error of about 2.2 percentage points, and the report does not mark the difference from the national average as statistically significant. The careful reading is that New Mexico’s rate is close to the national rate and may be somewhat above it.

One change in the state is marked as significant. Very low food security in New Mexico rose from 4.6 percent of households in 2012 to 2014 to 6.5 percent in 2022 to 2024.

Poverty

The Census Bureau reports that the official poverty rate in the United States was 10.6 percent in 2024. That is 35.9 million people.

For states the Bureau publishes a three-year average, using a slightly broader version of the official measure. For 2022 to 2024, New Mexico’s rate was 17.2 percent, with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, against 11.1 percent for the country on the same measure. Even at the low end of that margin, the state’s rate is above the national one.

The same table carries a second measure, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which also accounts for government assistance programs, taxes, and differences in housing costs. On that measure New Mexico’s rate for 2022 to 2024 was 12.4 percent, with a margin of error of 1.3 percentage points, against 12.7 percent for the country. Which measure is used changes how the state compares.

What the foundation can say

Human Hope Foundation was incorporated in New Mexico on September 15, 2026. It is a new organization, and this article makes no claim about programs, partners, results or people served. What can be stated is its purpose statement, word for word: “The organization operates on a nonprofit basis to provide charitable, educational, and community support services to individuals and families in need.”

That purpose speaks of individuals and families in need. The figures above describe the need. They do not describe anything the foundation has done about it.

What a plan purchase does

A plan is a purchase of access to Human Hope Daily. It is not a donation. The IRS has not recognized the foundation as tax-exempt, and purchases are not tax-deductible. After the cost of running the platform (payment processing, hosting, email and support), the proceeds support the foundation’s community programs in education, practical care and social wellbeing.

Practical care is one of those three areas. This article does not say how the proceeds are divided among them or what they have paid for, and it claims nothing beyond that.

Sources

Published by Human Hope Foundation. A plan is a purchase, not a donation, and is not tax-deductible.