(Bloomberg) -- The number of people facing hunger in the U.S. declined 2.8 percent last year to the lowest since 2007 as unemployment fell, a key data point as Congress debates changes to food-aid programs as part of farm legislation. About 40 million people were "food insecure" in 2017, meaning that at some point in the year their ability to obtain adequate food was in question, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study. Hunger was most prevalent in New Mexico, with 17.9 percent of households affected, while Hawaii's rate of 7.4 percent was the lowest in the nation.
--With assistance from Dave Merrill.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Bjerga in Washington at abjerga@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sophie Caronello at scaronello@bloomberg.net
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