A recent study by the Agricultural Department has found that 690,000 U.S children reported going hungry at some point in 2007, while one in 8 American adults struggled at one point to feed themselves.

The number of children reporting disruption in food increased 50 percent from 2006 and is the highest number since 1998, when 716,000 of children reported going hungry.  Also, reports from this year are expected to be even worse as a result of the nation’s current financial problems.

“There’s every reason to think the increases in the number of hungry people will be very, very large based on the increased demand we’re seeing this year at food stamp agencies, emergency kitchens, Women, Infants and Children clinics, really across the entire social service support structure,” James Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger group, told CNN.

According to the study, families headed by single mothers, Hispanic families, African-American families and households with incomes below the poverty line struggled the most.  The states reporting the highest number of families unable to eat properly were Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. The study also found that the highest growth in food insecurity over the last 9 years came in Alaska and Iowa. Both states saw a 3.7 percent increase in families who struggled to eat adequately or had substantial food disruptions.

Overall, CNN reports that 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million two years ago.

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