In more than half of Kansas counties, at least 4 in 10 households earn less than the ALICE Survival Budget, or the bare minimum cost of household essentials to live and work. In about a third of Kansas counties, 20 percent or more of children do not have enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.
Hunger Free Kansas is an initiative launched in 2023 by the Kansas Health Foundation and a statewide coalition of partners to end hunger and food insecurity across the state. To foster creative conversations and solutions around hunger, health and nutrition access, Hunger Free Kansas is bringing their Data Walk to Kansas communities.
Data walks are effective and engaging ways to tell the story of hunger in Kansas by using data. During a Data Walk, participants in small groups walk around a room, view data posters, and discuss underlining issues and creative policy and system-focused solutions. Eight posters highlight key data in understanding hunger in Kansas.
Some of the Kansas data discussed included:
- 2 to 3 times higher: Black Kansans (3 in 10) and Latino Kansans (2 in 10) experience higher food insecurity rates than non-Hispanic White Kansans (1 in 10).
- 1 in 10 adults receive nutrition assistance benefits (10.2 percent) or free groceries (7.0 percent) for their household.
- More than $18,000 spent by Medicare annually on average per beneficiary with diabetes. Average Medicare spending is higher for those with kidney disease, heart disease or more than one chronic disease.
- $71,892: The estimated ALICE survival budget for a Kansas household of 2 adults and 2 children in child care.
Funding and support for the Data Walk posters was provided by the Kansas Health Foundation. The Kansas Health Institute (KHI) provided the analysis and design of the Data Walk posters.
