MAINE AMONG WORST OFFENDERS IN HUNGER DISPROPORTIONATE TO POVERTY RATE

Daily Beast - The deepening hunger crisis revealed this week by a U.S. Department of Agriculture report has largely been attributed to the recession. But an exclusive analysis by The Daily Beast finds several states with hunger problems that far outpace their poverty rates, an indication that it isn't just the fragile economy that's to blame.

The worst 10 offenders for disproportionate hunger are: 1. Colorado 2. Alaska 3. Oregon 4. Connecticut 5. Utah 6. Nevada 7. Vermont 8. Maine 9. Missouri 10. Oklahoma

"The bottom line is always political will," says Kathy Underhill, executive director of the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger. "As a state, it's where you put your resources."

Mariana Chilton, a professor of public health at Drexel University who specializes in hunger issues, agrees that political leaders across the country need to step up to improve the situation in anti-hunger and other relief programs. "These programs have been neglected," she says. "It doesn't mean that they're not good programs, but they need to be updated."