Children's HealthWatch

USDA Food Security Report Shows Nearly a Quarter of US Children Live in Households Without Consistent Access to Food

The annual report on food insecurity in the United States, released yesterday by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, shows that nearly one in seven U.S. households – 14.9 percent – do not have access to enough food for an active and healthy life.

A closer look reveals a disturbing fact – food insecurity disproportionately affects families with young children. Approximately one quarter – 24.5 percent – of U.S. children who live in a household with at least one child under the age of six are food insecure. In addition, the report shows that food insecure households spend $37 per person per week on average for food while food secure households spend $50 per person per week, which is a difference of 35 percent.

“Hunger is written on the bodies and minds of our babies and toddlers,” said John Cook, PhD, associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and principal investigator for Children’s HealthWatch. “Children in food insecure households have more health problems and are more likely to be hospitalized and have developmental delays. Young children who are food insecure are more likely arrive at kindergarten unprepared and may never catch up to their food-secure peers.”