Hunger – hun-ger; a compelling need or desire for food; the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food
36.2 million Americans – including 12.4 million children – don´t have access to enough healthy food to thrive. They are food-insecure and at risk of hunger.
11.1% of all U.S. households are food-insecure
- 30.2% of all single-mom households
- 37.7% of all households at or below the poverty line
Food-insecure families (13.0 million households)
- 50% of all food-insecure households are white
- 47.6% – 6.2 million – have kids under 18; 53.4% of these are single-parent households
- 39.2% of food-insecure households live in the South
- 33.8% live in major cities
- 33.3% live at or below the poverty line
- 23.1% – nearly one-quarter – of food insecure households have kids under 6
Food-insecure children (12.4 million kids living at risk of hunger)
- 49.2% live in married-couple families
- 43.5% live in single-mom families
- 41.9% are white
- 41.1% – more than 5 million kids at risk of hunger – live at or below the poverty line
- 40.3% live in the South
- 35.5% live in cities outside of major metro areas
- Source: Household Food Security in the United States, 2007; U.S.D.A. Economic Research Service, November 2008; http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err66/
Hunger affects children in many ways
- Impedes growth and development
- More illness, including stomach issues and headaches, colds, ear infections and fatigue
- Poorer mental health
- More hospitalizations
- Greater susceptibility to obesity and its harmful health consequences
Hunger predisposes our children to behavioral difficulties, including:
- More aggressive behavior
- Higher levels or hyperactivity, anxiety and/or passivity
- Difficulty getting along with other children
- Greater need for mental health services
Hunger impedes our children´s ability to learn and perform academically. Hungry children are likely to:
- Have impaired cognitive functioning and diminished capacity to learn
- Achieve lower test scores and overall school performance
- Repeat a grade
- Experience school absences, tardiness and school suspensions
Resources
USDA Economic Research Service, “Household Food Security in the United States, 2005, www.ers.usda.gov/Publications
Center on Hunger and Poverty, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, The Consequences of Hunger and Food Insecurity for Children, June 2002,www.centeronhunger.org
America´s Second Harvest – The Nation´s Food Bank Network, The Almanac of Hunger in America 2006, www.secondharvest.org
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 2005, www.cbpp.org
Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 15, January 23, 2008
USDA Economic Research Service, The Food Assistance Landscape, March 2006,www.ers.usda.gov/Publications
Food Research and Action Center, State of the State 2006 report, www.frac.org
Children´s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program, Food Stamps as Medicine, A New Perspective on Children´s Health, February 2007, www.c-snap.org
