I don't think this news is cause for celebration, but at least it's nevertheless somewhat good news.

Oregon is no longer the hungriest state in the nation, according to newly released federal statistics, but 12.9 percent of Oregon households still reported having difficulty providing food for all members of the family during at least one point of the year.

Still, the percentage of Oregon households reporting occasional hunger declined to eighth in the nation between 2001 and 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The state held the first-in-the-nation spot from 1995 to 2001, according to previous reports.

It appears that this improvement is a result of some hard work.

Oregon's high hunger rates appear to be the result of high costs of living that are especially hard on its working poor, said Bruce Weber, an economist at Oregon State University who has studied the state's hunger problem.

He and others involved with studying and fighting hunger say Oregon's aggressive efforts to extend food stamps to more residents and to stock its food pantries have helped push back hunger in the state, despite high unemployment rates.

During 2001-2003, Oregon increased the number of households receiving food stamps by 34 percent to 135,000 households. The Oregon Food Bank expanded its distribution of emergency food by 22 percent to 647,000 boxes.

I certainly hope all Oregonians--and indeed all Americans--will have a warm meal tomorrow night (not to mention the rest of the year).