Report Date: July 29, 2002
Data Collected: July 10-11, 2002
Survey Population: 1000 likely voters nationally
Learn more about this survey here and download a PowerPoint presentation about the survey here.

Key Advice

• A central goal of the Hunger Message Project is to build the political will to end hunger by making it politically profitable for candidates to talk about hunger in ways that win votes. Three message principles must be at the center of such a communication strategy:
  
  • Focus on the goal of promoting greater independence, responsibility and autonomy for those receiving help.
    
  • The public is suspicious about large-scale aid programs and favors a “balanced approach” including multiple levels of government, not-for-profit organizations and churches.
    
  • Because voters are frequently skeptical of the current governmental and programmatic responses they have seen, calls for more resources must be coupled with a commitment to reform.
  
  
• “The public needs to know that the aid is going to the right people and that money is being used appropriately and efficiently. Americans want to see that the money is building long-term solutions that solve hunger through a strong economy and agriculture.“

Key Findings

• Voters are aware that hunger around the world is more severe than in the U.S. but give higher priority to resolving the American hunger problem – 62% see domestic hunger as a higher priority compared to 25% who say world hunger is the higher priority (though 35% say the U.S. spends “too little” on world hunger).
  
• How one talks about hunger makes a difference. For example, 72.9% of voters say the six million children around the world who die annually from hunger-related illness is a convincing argument to do more, indicating much stronger support than when the question is phrased in terms of hungry people in general.
  
• When asked whether, “as a result of the events of September 11th last year, are you more likely or less likely to want to reduce world hunger?” just over 70% of voters responded that they are more likely to want to reduce world hunger.
  
• “While almost 60% of voters believe reducing hunger would lead to greater stability and increased trade for the United States, they do not believe terrorism is rooted in poverty (only 15% believe this), ascribing that problem more to resentment of America and to religious extremism.”
  
• “Almost two-thirds of voters said the most important reason to fight hunger is that it is the ‘moral and right thing to do’ (59.4%),” with terrorism and the U.S. economy coming in a distant second and third with 18% and 13% respectively.

Methodology
This national survey of political attitudes was conducted among a sample of 1,000 likely voters on July 10-11, 2002. All interviews were conducted via telephone by professionally trained data collectors on McLaughlin & Associates' state-of-the art CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system. Respondent selection was at random. The sample of 1,000 likely voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence interval.

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