Dr. Mariana Chilton, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at the Drexel University School of Public Health, is available to comment on food insecurity and hunger in America after the release today of the annual report on food security in the United States by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service.
USDA findings include:• In the U.S. 14.9 percent of households were food insecure, meaning 1 out of every 6 households did not have access to enough food for an active and healthy life. • Though this marks no real change from the previous year, very low food security (the more severe form of food insecurity) increased to reach 5.7 percent or 6.8 million households, levels seen at the height of the recession in 2008 and 2009.• Almost a quarter (24.5 percent) of all children under age 6 lived in food insecure households in 2011. This figure has particularly significant public health implications: these early years lay the foundation for children’s health, cognitive, social and emotional development and future potential.
“Being food insecure means far more than not having enough to eat; there are lifelong implications,” said Chilton. “Children in food insecure households have more health problems, are more likely to be hospitalized, and to have developmental delays. Young kids who are food insecure may arrive at kindergarten unprepared, and may never catch up to their peers.”
Chilton pointed out that the new USDA data reflect food insecurity issues affecting children in Philadelphia, as she and colleagues have reported in the Philadelphia site of the national Children’s HealthWatch study:• At the height of the recession between 30-50 percent of the families with children surveyed said they did not have enough money for food. • Over 60 percent of families with children under age 4 interviewed by the Children’s HealthWatch study in Philadelphia had some form of hardship with housing, utilities and food. • Since the beginning of the recession through the end of 2011, Children’s HealthWatch-Philadelphia saw an upward spike in food insecurity among families with young children, increasing from 16.8 percent in 2008 to 22 percent in 2011.
Members of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities’ “Witnesses to Hunger” program, who have personally struggled with food insecurity, are also available for comment.
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