Food Insecurity in the Recession

Food Insecurity Rates Rise Steeply with the Recession, a policy brief released by Children’s HealthWatch, summarizes 2007-2008 data on food insecurity in a sample of 15,110 low-income American families with very young children. The organization found that overall rates of food insecure families increased 18.5 percent between 2007 and 2008, an increase greater than any year-to-year change in the data since 2001. The data suggest the need for policy action:

As pediatric researchers, we urge policymakers to use the upcoming reauthorization of child nutrition programs to strengthen and expand these crucial interventions. The programs scheduled for reauthorization address nutrition needs in pregnant mothers and children of all ages. These programs include WIC and child care feeding, which support our youngest children, as well as school breakfast and lunch, summer feeding and afterschool suppers which support children in elementary through high school. Scientific evidence has shown that these programs are vitally important even in good economic times. In a recession that has been called the worst since the Great Depression, they are a lifeline for millions of families with children. Children cannot wait until the recession ends.

Policies to enhance food assistance.