49.1 million people, or 16 percent of the U.S. population, live in poverty. That's higher than previously thought.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new poverty numbers Monday, that took into account factors like food stamps, subsidized housing, and government assistance.
The numbers released Monday are a new supplemental poverty measure aimed at providing a fuller picture of poverty of America.
Before that, the federal government's official poverty rate, which is mainly determined by income, was 15.2% or 46.2 million. That was a record when it was first reported in September. The income threshold for poverty that the census used for a family of four in 2010 was $22,314, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. That's lower that $22,350 the department of Health and Human Services uses.
Much of the increase in the new measure comes from rising everyday costs, such as out-of-pocket medical expenses, that aren't factored into the official rate. Americans 65 or older had the biggest poverty jump - 15.9 percent, versus 9 percent under the official formula.
For Hispanics, poverty rose to 28.2 percent, surpassing that of blacks for the first time.
June Walter is the executive director at Shephard's Table in Conway, a Christian Non profit that provides dinners every weeknight from 5pm-6:30pm to those in need. She agrees with the numbers and the rising need.
"In the past six weeks we have seen more new faces than before," Walter said.
In addition to the differentiation in threshold and poverty rate, the definition behind the statistic and the experience of poverty are also two entirely different things. How would you define poverty? Monday night on your news at 11, NewsChannel 15 Lindsey Theis take you inside Shepard's Table and document what some of those who experience poverty firsthand describe the word.
The AP contributed to this report.
