Alliance to End Hunger Hunger Message Project

2010 Mid-term Election Poll

(Provided by the Alliance to End Hunger)

Since 2002, the Alliance to End Hunger has regularly conducted national, non-partisan polls of voters’ attitudes on domestic and global hunger known as the Hunger Message Project. The result is an extraordinary body of evidence demonstrating that voters know hunger is a serious problem and they are paying attention to what their elected leaders are doing to alleviate it.

On November 2-3, 2010, a national survey of adults who voted in the mid-term elections was conducted.

Foreign aid reform

Voters were asked if they agreed or disagreed with a series of proposals that could be part of a federal program to reform the way the U.S. delivers foreign assistance which is aid to developing countries.  The poll demonstrated strong support for reform among both Republicans and Democrats.  Below are the specific results:

Question: Do you agree or disagree with the following proposals that could be part of a federal program to reform the way the U.S. delivers foreign assistance which is aid to developing countries?	% of all voters  who agree	% of Rep. voters	% of Dem. voters	% of Ind. voters
1. Foreign aid must be transparent and accountable to make sure our tax dollars are spent wisely.	90	91	92	89
2. U.S. foreign aid should be expanded to help farmers in poor countries become more productive and grow more of their own food.	76	71	83	76
3. U.S. foreign aid can be made more effective by expanding our efforts to reduce child malnutrition.	72	66	81	70
4. We need a strong, up-to-date development agency to lead in implementing U.S. foreign aid programs.	67	65	76	68
5. Local recipients of U.S. foreign aid should participate or have a voice in planning and executing development programs.	67	60	76	65
6. U.S. should take the lead in achieving international goals to reduce hunger, poverty, and disease.	66	62	76	61

Support for efforts to reduce hunger and poverty

Other key findings from survey:

• A large majority of voters (70%) agree that the world has made important progress against hunger, poverty, and disease in recent decades.

• Voters believe that among a list of reasons, the “best reason” for working to reduce hunger in the U.S. and around the word is because it is the “moral and right things to do.”  Two-thirds of voters (66%) agree that as the global economy suffers and millions die from hunger and disease every day, it is our moral responsibility as Americans to lead the world in helping to reduce global suffering.

• Aside from a moral obligation, the majority of voters, by a 2 to 1 ratio (61% to 30%) agree that addressing problems like disease, hunger and the lack of economic opportunity in the world’s poorest countries is in our national security interest because it can increase stability around the world and make the U.S. more secure from terrorism.

• Despite wanting to help around the world, the current economic conditions in the U.S. have the majority of voters (63%) more concerned with helping our citizens first before trying to help others in the world.  One-third of voters (33%) believe that even in this economy, America should look to help those around the world in desperate need even as it tries to help the neediest citizens her at home.

The Hunger Message Project Mid-term Election poll was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates on November 2-3, 2010 among 1,000 adults who voted in the 2010 elections.  All interviews were conducted by professional interviewers via telephone.  Interview selection was at random within predetermined election units.  These units were structured to statistically correlate with actual voter distributions in a general election. The accuracy of the sample of 1,000 adults who voted in this year’s elections is within +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.