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Although they live in a wealthy nation, 13 million children in America live in households with limited or uncertain access to sufficient food. The majority of these children are white and have at least one parent who is working; nearly half live in two-parent families. Food hardships are even more pronounced among certain groups of children: about 30% of black and Hispanic children, and over 40% of low-income children live in households that do not have access to nutritionally adequate diets necessary for an active, healthy life.
While food insecurity and hunger are closely connected to poverty, direct research evidence linking family food hardship to health, behavioral, and other outcomes in children is now emerging. The Center on Hunger and Poverty, in an analysis prepared for ConAgra Foods' Feeding Children Better Foundation, highlights recent findings showing the adverse consequences of hunger and food insecurity for children. The findings are grouped into three broad areas: health consequences, psychosocial and behavioral impacts, and learning and academic outcomes. A section on the relationship between food insecurity and obesity is also included, since this is an issue receiving growing attention.
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