Racial and Ethnic Background (5.6)
Clients were asked about their racial and ethnic background. Table 5.6.1 summarizes the results.
TABLE 5.6.1
RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND
(Adults
Interviewed at A2H Emergency Food Providers)
Clients’ Racial a and Ethnic Background |
Adult Clients Who Pick Up Food at a Pantry |
Adult Clients at a Kitchen |
Adult Clients at a Shelter |
All |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White b |
40.0% |
37.5% |
42.4% |
39.8% |
Non-Hispanic Black |
37.1% |
42.0% |
36.0% |
37.9% |
American Indian or Alaskan Native |
4.1% |
6.2% |
5.3% |
4.5% |
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander |
0.5% |
0.3% |
1.3% |
0.5% |
Asian |
1.2% |
0.5% |
0.4% |
1.0% |
Latino or Hispanic |
|
|
|
|
Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano |
9.6% |
6.4% |
9.2% |
9.0% |
Puerto Rican |
2.2% |
3.2% |
1.9% |
2.3% |
Cuban |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
Other Latino or Hispanic |
6.0% |
6.1% |
4.4% |
5.9% |
SUBTOTAL |
17.9% |
15.8% |
15.5% |
17.4% |
Other c |
2.0% |
2.3% |
3.8% |
2.2% |
SAMPLE SIZE (N) |
37,986 |
10,667 |
4,225 |
52,878 |
SOURCE:
This table was constructed based on
usable responses to questions 11, 11a, and 12 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. All usable responses
were weighted as described in Chapter 3 and in the Technical Appendix
volume to represent all emergency food
clients of the A2H National Network. The sample sizes (N) also include
missing data.
For race, missing, don’t know, and refusal responses combined are 0.7% for pantry clients, 0.8% for kitchen clients, 1.2% for shelter clients, and 0.7% for all clients.
For ethnicity, missing, don’t know, and refusal responses combined are 2.7% for pantry clients, 3.3% for kitchen clients, 2.8% for shelter clients, and 2.8% for all clients.
a Note that Table 5.6.1 of Hunger in America 2001 used all respondents indicating white or black as their race regardless of their ethnicity.
b Most respondents who marked “Other” as their choice did not provide further information. Those who provided an answer sometimes indicated their nationality, but because the number of usable responses was small, recoding of those responses based on this information was not performed.
Racial or ethnic background of the clients at emergency food program sites follows:
- Among the clients who come to all program sites, 39.8% are non-Hispanic white; 37.9% non-Hispanic black; and 4.5% American Indian or Alaskan Native.
- 0.5% are native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 1.0% are Asian.
- A total of 17.4% of the clients at all program
sites indicate they are Spanish, Latino, or of Hispanic descent or
origin.