America: Land of the free, home of the brave — and hungry
Johnny Noble, 9, sits in a trailer on April 21, 2012, in Owsley County, Ky. The trailer has no electricity or running water.
America may be the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
But it's also home to a rising number of people who can barely afford to eat, according to Gallup's latest poll on hunger in the United States.
According to the new figures, 18.9 percent of Americans struggled to afford food in last year.
That's up 0.7 percent from 2012. And the rate has only increased since Gallup began tracking the numbers in 2008. (The rate then was 17.8 percent.)
Pollsters said rising food prices could be at fault, and might also have contributed to unhealthy eating habits.
Sixteen states reported hunger rates of 20 percent or higher in the latest Gallup poll.
GlobalPost took a look at the 10 states at the top of the list, along with each state's median income level in 2012, based on data from the US Census Bureau.
[Scroll to the bottom to see the states where residents were least likely to struggle with food affordability.]
1. Mississippi (25.1 percent) — $36,641
(Mario Tama AFP/Getty Images)
2. West Virginia (23 percent) — $43,553
(Spencer Platt AFP/Getty Images)
2. Louisiana (23 percent) — $39,085
(Mario Tama AFP/Getty Images)
4. Alabama (22.9 percent) — $43,464
(Mario Tama AFP/Getty Images)
5. Arkansas (22.5 percent) — $39,018
(Mario Villafuerte AFP/Getty Images)
6. North Carolina (22.2 percent) — $41,553
(Paul J. Richards AFP/Getty Images)
7. Kentucky (21.8 percent) — $41,086
(Mario Tama AFP/Getty Images)
8. Georgia (21.5 percent) — $48,121
(Rick Diamond AFP/Getty Images)
9. Oklahoma (21.2 percent) — $48,407
(Brandi Simmons/Getty Images)
10. Arizona (21.1 percent) — $47,044
(Spencer Platt AFP/Getty Images)