UPDATE: As of April 2021, new analysis shows that the rate of childhood hunger has fallen to 1 in 6 children.
For years, the number of hungry children in the United States dropped, as the economy improved and No Kid Hungry and others helped schools adopt more effective meals programs.
Now, 1 in 4 children in the United States could face hunger because of the coronavirus.
Why? Because millions of children have lost reliable access to the healthy school meals they depend on. And just as the outbreak closed schools, it also closed businesses in communities everywhere, leaving millions of Americans out of work and struggling to afford food for their children. These are families in need, many of them waiting in long lines for food.
No Kid Hungry has a plan to make sure children get the food they need, both during this crisis and in its aftermath. Through a combination of emergency grants, strategic assistance, advocacy and awareness, we are equipping communities with the resources they need.
Where Did This Number Come From?
Every year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) releases the official statistics on food insecurity in the United States. At last count, there were more than 11 million children living with hunger.
But the coronavirus has upended those numbers, and we know the situation has grown much more dire.
Feeding America released an analysis projecting what hunger and food insecurity will look like for kids in the wake of the coronavirus. There are several possible outcomes, depending on the course the pandemic takes and the subsequent toll on the national economy. Unlike the USDA figures, these are predictions rather than measurements, but we trust the work of Feeding America and, sadly, believe this is a much more accurate representation of childhood hunger right now.
Learn more about how No Kid Hungry is feeding kids - and how you can help.
