Sara Lee Bread, a Bimbo Bakeries USA brand, and U.S. Hunger have released a survey designed to shed light on the gap between how Americans perceive food insecurity and the challenges many families face. The survey also explored how willing Americans are to lend support. The report, “Empty tables: the hidden reality of food insecurity,” is part of Sara Lee’s multi-year partnership with U.S. Hunger to pledge $1 million in funding and products to the hunger relief organization by 2025.

While food insecurity affects 13.5 million American households, according to the US Department of Agriculture, 24% of Americans in the survey said it was one of the top three most pressing issues for American households. In the survey, 29% said they were not at all or not very familiar with the term food insecurity. Food insecurity may impact households that earn up to $149,000 annually, but 38% said they believe households earning less than $25,000 submit the most requests for food assistance.

Food insecurity especially impacts women. The survey found 60% said they were unaware that female caregivers were most likely to sacrifice personal meals when experiencing food insecurity, while nearly 90% of female caregivers sacrifice their own meals to feed their families.

“Sara Lee Bread has always strived to support moms and families across the US, and this partnership with U.S. Hunger is extremely important to us to help amplify that commitment,” said Nick Pitone, senior brand manager at Sara Lee Bread. “This new data will help inform our future approach in how we support families facing food insecurity, and we hope it inspires meaningful action, providing a sense of love, comfort and community.”