Hunger in the United States
Hunger in the United States of America affects millions of Americans, including some who are middle class, or who are in households where all adults are in work.
Quotes
[edit]- Imagine, for a moment, this scenario: a 200-meter footrace in which the starting blocks of some competitors are placed 75 meters behind the others. Barring an Olympic-caliber runner, those who started way in front will naturally win. Now, think of that as an analogy for the predicament that American kids born in poverty face through no fault of their own. They may be smart and diligent, their parents may do their best to care for them, but they begin life with a huge handicap. As a start, the nutrition of poor children will generally be inferior to that of other kids. No surprise there, but here’s what’s not common knowledge: A childhood nutritional deficit matters for years afterwards, possibly for life. Scientific research shows that, by age three, the quality of childrens’ diets is already shaping the development of critical parts of young brains like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in ways that matter. That’s worth keeping in mind because four million American kids under age six were poor in 2018, as were close to half of those in families headed by single women. Indeed, the process starts even earlier. Poor mothers may themselves have nutritional deficiencies that increase their risk of having babies with low birth weights. That, in turn, can have long-term effects on children’s health, what level of education they reach, and their future incomes since the quality of nutrition affects brain size, concentration, and cognitive capacity. It also increases the chances of having learning disabilities and experiencing mental health problems.
- Rajan Menon, Trump’s War on the Poor Includes Our Children (February 4, 2020), The Nation.
- A record 14 million children in America are not getting enough to eat... even before the pandemic, in the richest nation in the world, about 13 million children went to school hungry every day.
- Marianne Williamson in If We Want a Prosperous America Tomorrow, Take Care of Our Children Today, Newsweek (23 July 2020)
See also
[edit]- Social programs in the United States
- Social Security (United States)
- Socioeconomic mobility in the United States
External links
[edit]
- Facts on Hunger in the USA, 2013, from the World Hunger Education Service
- Food Insecurity, a special issue from the Journal of Applied Research on Children (2012)