Newswise — PHILADELPHIA (August 11, 2011)— A new analysis of food hardship data released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), found that more than 23 percent of households with children in the U.S. and 21 percent of households with children in Pennsylvania reported in 2009-2010 not having enough money to buy food that they needed at times for themselves or their family during the prior twelve months. Dr. Mariana Chilton, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities in the Drexel University School of Public Health, is available for comment on the new data and their implications for children’s health in the Philadelphia region and across the U.S.
The analysis released today from FRAC’s Food Hardship in America series examines food hardship rates – the inability to afford enough food – for households with and without children. Data are available for every state, every Congressional District and 100 of the country’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The full analysis is available on FRAC’s website (www.frac.org).
Findings for childhood food hardship include:
• Nationally in 2010, 23.4 percent of households with children said they were unable to afford enough food. The food hardship rate for households without children was 14.9 percent. • In 2009-2010, 21.6 percent of households with children in Pennsylvania said they were unable to afford enough food. The food hardship rate for households without children was 13.3 percent.• In the 1st Congressional District (represented by Congressman Bob Brady), a staggering 49.6 percent of households with children experienced food hardship in 2008-2010. • In the 2nd Congressional District (represented by Congressman Chaka Fattah), the food hardship rate among households with children was 32.2 percent.
In response to these findings, Chilton comments:
“The impact of such extreme food hardship will have permanent consequences for the health, development and future potential of the nation’s children. Our research has shown that children in food insecure households are at greater risk for health problems, impaired cognitive development, behavioral and emotional problems, and are more likely to have trouble in school and the workforce.”
“It is appalling that almost half of all households with children in the 1st Congressional District can’t afford food. We all must take ownership of the problem and identify solutions. Government agencies, corporations, hospitals, foundations, non-profits, and ordinary citizens all have important roles to play.”
Tianna Gaines, Board Chair of Witnesses to Hunger, comments:
“These data demonstrate that now is NOT the time to weaken our safety net. Congress must protect SNAP (food stamps), WIC, housing subsidies, and other parts of the safety net that help struggling families.”
Witnesses to Hunger a project founded by Chilton at the Drexel University School of Public Health, working to ensure that those who know hunger and poverty first-hand are heard by local, state, and federal policy-makers.
Chilton’s research specialties include hunger, nutrition, housing and health, chronic diseases, community health, and human rights. She has testified before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on the importance of child nutrition programs and other anti-poverty policies and has served as an advisor to Sesame Workshop and to the Institute of Medicine.
***To schedule a telephone interview with Dr. Chilton, contact the Drexel University Office of University Communications at 215-895-2614 or [email protected]. ***
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