In a study that was published by UCLA’s Williams Institute, researchers found that LGBT individuals were significantly more likely to struggle with hunger than their heterosexual counterparts. Some key findings:
- 29% of LGBT adults said that at some point in the last year they did not have adequate resources to feed themselves or their families
- Same-sex couples raising children were more than twice as likely as heterosexual couples to receive SNAP assistance
- Approximately 1 in 4 bisexuals (25%) receive food stamps, compared to 14% of lesbians and gay men.
- More than a third (34%) of LGBT-identified women did not have money for food in the last year compared to 20% of non-LGBT women and 24% of LGBT men.
- An estimated 17% of female same-sex couples received food stamps compared with 10% of male same-sex couples and 9% of different-sex couples.
- While nearly 1 in 4 White LGBT adults (23%) experienced food insecurity at some point last year, the figure was more than 1 in 3 for African-American LGBT adults (37%), more than 1 in 2 for LGBT Native Americans (55%), and more than 3 in 4 for Native Hawaiians (78%).
These startling and troubling statistics show that there is still a lot of progress to be made for individuals throughout the queer community.
