Food Insecurity In America

Introduction

Even as one of the richest countries in the world, childhood hunger affects millions of kids across the United States. We all know that we need food to survive, but it is crucial that a child has more than enough food to just survive. Children between 4-10 are learning the most basics and most important ideas in school and social life, and without proper nutrition, these children can fall behind. Due to poor federally funded programs, local cities and communities must come together to make sure no child goes hungry. Proper nutrition is important for growing children for a healthy mental, social, and physical life; however, some children do not have access to a proper nutrition.

Food Insecurity

The definition of food insecurity

But truth be told, the prevalence of food insecurity varies considerably from state to state. Since only 9 states, with the addition of Washington D.C., participated in the study, the information may or may not be as widespread across the country. However, according to Hunger Notes, “food insecurity in 2013-15 ranged from 8.5 percent in North Dakota to 20.8 percent in Mississippi” (2016). If the lowest percentage of all states is only 8.5% then the problem of food insecurity is actually bigger than we thought. There is no excuse for any child in America to go hungry and malnourished in one of the richest nations’ on Earth. Be that as it may, childhood hunger is a widespread, urgent and shameful problem that cannot wait. In the same study done by CCHIP, an additional 10 million children are at risk for hunger (Alaimo, Olson, Frongillo and Briefel, 2001, May). Across the United States 14 million children are or are at risk of being hungry or malnourished, 4.3% of all of America, not even including adults,

Food insecure children under age five are more likely to be behind in social skills and reading performance by kindergarten. By elementary school, children that grew up food insecure are four times more likely to need mental health counseling and may become stressed or anxious making it harder to learn skills that help later relationship development, school success and workplace productivity. Unfortunately, the risks keep accumulating, by adulthood, those children that were malnutrition from childhood food insecurity are at risk to adult diseases including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Thankfully, there are some government agencies and individual run organizations to ensure no kid goes