Food insecurity in familes with children

Food insecurity in familes with children

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
New York Health Foundation, issuing body.
Publication:
New York, NY : NY Health Foundation, October 2022
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Child Health
Food Assistance
Food Insecurity
New York
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Food insecurity--the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life--is a problem for people of all ages, but it is especially troubling for families with children. Across the United States, childhood food insecurity rates top overall food insecurity rates and have, of late, been rising. In New York State, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one in five adults with children reported that their children did not have enough to eat in the prior week; rates were more than three times as high for Hispanic and Black families as for white families. Food insecurity jeopardizes children’s health. Food-insecure children are more likely to have stunted development and asthma. They have higher rates of hospitalization, but are less likely to have access to health care. Food insecurity can also permanently affect intellectual and social development. Children with uncertain access to food tend to have lower test scores and a greater likelihood of behavioral problems, including hyperactivity and anxiety. Based on a 1,507-person statewide Survey of Food and Health from the New York Health Foundation, this brief explores how food insecurity affects New York families and the steps policymakers and health care providers can take to improve the health and wellbeing of food insecure families with children. Key findings include: (1) Nearly half of all food-insecure households with children have children who have gone hungry in the last year. (2) Nearly 90% of food-insecure adults with children have skipped meals, compared with three-quarters of childless food-insecure adults. (3) Food-insecure adults with children are twice as likely to report poor or fair health and three times more likely than food-secure adults with children to report stress, anxiety, or depression. (4) Food-insecure families with children are more than three-and-a-half times as likely as food-secure families with children to report that transportation is sometimes, often, or always a barrier to getting food. (5) Food-insecure families with children are more than twice as likely as childless food-insecure New Yorkers to lack cooking equipment or a fridge and three times more likely to lack a stove.
Copyright:
Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (9 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918540686306676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918540686306676