Section 5.2.1

5.2.1 - Summary Demographic Profile

Client respondents provided information about various demographic characteristics of themselves and/or their households. Table 5.2.1 summarizes the demographic profile of the clients of the A2H national network.

Table 5.2.1

SUMMARY DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
(Adults Interviewed at A2H Emergency Food Providers and Their Households)

Adult Clients at Program Sites	Pantry	Kitchen	Shelter	All
Male	32.5%	62.8%	69.3%	38.3%
Female	67.5%	37.2%	30.7%	61.7%
U.S. citizens	92.5%	95.2%	98.0%	93.1%
Married or living as married	34.8%	19.4%	13.0%	31.7%
High school graduate or beyond	62.2%	65.7%	64.7%	62.8%
Currently employed	24.7%	27.7%	22.0%	25.0%
Clients in suburban/rural areas	51.7%	26.1%	23.4%	46.9%

Client's Household¹
Size of household
Households with 1 member	33.6%	61.7%	75.1%	39.4%
Households with 2-3 members	35.2%	26.3%	17.2%	33.1%
Households with 4-6 members	25.9%	10.2%	7.1%	22.9%
Households with more than 6 members	5.3%	1.8%	0.6%	4.6%
TOTAL	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Average household size	2.9	1.9	1.5	2.7
Median household size	2	1	1	2
Households with nonfamily members	8.5%	6.6%	4.3%	8.1%
Households with one or more adults employed	40.1%	33.8%	31.5%	38.9%
Households with single parents	25.7%	11.9%	8.0%	23.0%
Households with single parents among households with children younger than age 18²	50.2%	54.6%	52.9%	50.5%
Elderly and children in household
Households with children younger than age 18	43.4%	19.5%	12.7%	38.7%
Households with any children ages 0-5 years	18.2%	6.4%	7.8%	16.2%
Households with any member 65 years or older	25.5%	15.8%	2.7%	23.1%
SAMPLE SIZE (N)	24,436	5,441	2,882	32,759

Source
This table was constructed based on usable responses to Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, 81a, and 82 of the client survey.

Notes
The percentages presented in this table are based only on usable responses, excluding missing, don't know, and refusal responses, except for the percentage of employed clients (See Table 5.7.2). All usable responses were weighted as described in Chapter 3 and in the Technical Appendix volume to represent all emergency food clients or households of the A2H network. The sample sizes (N) also include missing data.

1. Data are available for at most six members of household. See Chapter 3 for details.

2. The sample size is 11,329 for the pantry, 812 for the kitchen, 589 for the shelter, and 12,730 for all.

Table 5.2.1 shows that 38.3% of the clients visiting emergency food programs are men, while 61.7% are women. This gender composition takes into account only the client population who come to the program sites. Since the pantries' client base is not limited to the individual members who come to pick up food, but includes all members of such clients' households, it is also of interest to examine tabulations based on all individual members of client households. A subsequent table, Table 5.3.2, presents age, gender, and citizenship composition of all members of client households.

Additional demographic characteristics of the clients at program sites and the client households are as follows:

93.1% of all clients at program sites are U.S. citizens.
31.7% of all clients at program sites are married or living as married.
62.8% of all clients at program sites completed high school or beyond.
25.0% of all clients at program sites are currently working.
46.9% of the clients at program sites are served in programs located in suburban or rural areas.
The mean household size is 2.7.
39.4% of the client households are single-person households.
4.6% of the client households have more than six members.
38.9% of the client households have one or more adults currently working.
Among client households with children younger than age 18, 50.5% are single-parent households.
38.7% of the client households have at least one member younger than age 18.
16.2% of the client households have one or more children ages 0 to 5 years.
23.1% of the households have at least one member age 65 years or older.