Buzz Aldrin once said, “If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.” Childhood hunger is an ongoing problem in the United States. Food insecurity, defined by the dictionary, means, “an economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” There is a difference between food insecurity and hunger, though. Hunger, defined by the dictionary, means, “a compelling need or desire for food.” During the 2015-2016 school year, 112 Winnacunnet High School students, from the Seacoast New Hampshire area, were given an anonymous survey conducted to see how many of them actually thought hunger was a problem in the Seacoast communities and in the United States as a whole. Only 63.4% of surveyed students thought hunger was a problem in the Seacoast of New Hampshire whereas 87.5% of them said they thought hunger was a problem in the United States.

In fact, hunger is a problem. According to the New Hampshire Food Bank, 1 in 9 individuals in the state is food insecure. My hometown of Hampton has a population of roughly 15,200 residents as of 2014 (Hampton). That’s saying about 1,689 of them are food insecure. It was found that typical median families spend 27% more money on food than food insecure families of the same size and composition do (Hungry Children Suffer). There are several causes leading to hunger including domestic violence, substance abuse, low-income jobs, demographics, and family living situations. President Obama had a goal of ending childhood hunger by the year 2015, but millions of children still go hungry every day. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has worked effortlessly to try and reduce the amount of children that go hungry every day in this country, however, hunger is a horrible problem that isn’t getting better.

Poverty, unemployment, and low wages are just three other factors influencing childhood hunger greatly. In many food insecurity cases, the poor aren’t classified as “homeless” but instead “the working poor.” America has this dream that a person can achieve anything in this country if they try hard enough, but several million people are below the national poverty level and another several million can barely stay afloat with the money they make. A sad reality of poverty and low wages is that they can be passed down through generations of families. Impoverished children grow up to be impoverished parents who end up bringing their own children into poverty-stricken situations, and it’s a never ending cycle. Deepening poverty levels increase the homelessness and food insecurity problem because it doesn’t allow people to properly provide for their families resulting in the children and even adults going hungry.

Furthermore, single parents especially struggle with food insecurity. Since most only have half the income coming in, and some not receiving child support, it puts them at a higher particular risk. In some cases, they choose between food and paying for medicine or medical care. Most of the time, medical care, and medicine will be favored over providing adequate and nutritious food for their children. High housing costs don’t help the cause either, especially for single parents. It is the number one leading cause of hunger for families with children. The costs also vary depending on demographics. "The demographic of food-insecure Americans extends beyond the areas of concentrated urban poverty and into suburbs and rural America, areas often mistakenly thought to be immune to this problem. Like poverty, food insecurity is a dynamic, intensely complex issue" ( New AAP).

Take for example Hampton and the Seacoast communities in New Hampshire. Family Fare is a local soup kitchen that serves food to children and their families of the school systems. They serve on average 45 people that range from 2 to 65+ years old. With the reputation the towns have of being suburbs, it would never cross a person’s mind how in need people are, even in their own communities. Several million children go hungry across the nation as a result of several different factors, some more than others, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Food insecurity is an obstacle that threatens the foundation critical for physical and mental health. Outside of the classroom, hunger affects 1 in 5 children (Learning First). In 2014, 15.3 million children under the age of 18 living in the United States were found to be living in households where they were inconsistently unable to have access to nutritious food necessary for a healthy life (Feeding America). It is a serious issue that affects every individual but is extremely devastating among children every single day because of their increased vulnerability and potential for long-term consequences. Infants that are affected by food insecurity are susceptible to health problems and future learning disabilities. Pregnant mothers run a risk of premature babies, low birth weight, lower brain weight and other complications.

Hunger is associated in children with chronic health problems and conditions, frequent hospitalization, oral problems, and behavioral issues. Within the United States, the District of Columbia (39%) and Mississippi (29%) had the highest rates in the nation of children under 18 without consistent access to food. In 2013, some of the lowest reported states included: New Hampshire, North Dakota, Massachusetts and Virginia. (Child Development). Although it is proven to be a problem throughout the country, it is more severe in some parts and less severe in others. This is due to the local government agencies, soup kitchens and pantries and programs working together. As a country we have already tried to change aspects of the issue and it's going to take years to change the problem but we can’t give up and we need to keep on top of it.

The government has worked tirelessly to try and attack the issue of hunger head on, however, it’s still a problem and will continue to be a problem. Michelle Obama has worked hard on getting lunch programs changed in schools as part of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA). The obesity issue in children is more visible and easier to accomplish and see results and this is the aim of the program. She embedded new nutrition standards for school meals as a way to fight childhood obesity. The program provides them the “healthy future they need.” (Kelly). Yes, this has done a lot for obese children, but what happens to those kids that need those few extra calories? They don’t get them and so they don’t receive the proper caloric intake. They’re getting limited food as is, why limit their meal to a sandwich, a milk and an apple?

It has been proven that obesity can coincide with food insecurity even in the same household because food insecure families eat worse because that’s what they can afford. This leads to a larger BMI than food secure families creating a more visible problem of obesity than food insecurity. People don’t realize that obese people may be the ones that are the worse off because directly they can’t tell (Hartline-Grafton). In the long run, this program hasn’t prioritized childhood food insecurity and hunger. Instead, the childhood obesity epidemic has taken priority limiting the attention of the childhood hunger issue needs.

In addition, school systems and the United States Department of Agriculture have teamed up to establish a breakfast program for children before school. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and many students aren’t able to eat it because of their food insecure situations. Many educators nowadays advocate for breakfast in the mornings. Only half of all students qualify for free or reduced breakfast, but results have been tremendous. 76% of students that get breakfast have improved alertness and seem to be healthier. They also have better attendance recorded, fewer disciplinary problems and fewer visits to the nurse as well (Learning First). The sad reality of the whole problem is that Feeding America serves approximately 12 million children and only 46% of those participate in the school breakfast programs. It’s necessary that all schools nationwide implant this program. There have been outstanding results and it has helped to nourish children and help keep children from starving during the school week.

Along with the breakfast program, there is also the free and reduced lunch programs. This is something that all public and nonprofit private schools can be a part of as long as their school board approves and they are eligible for it. Winnacunnet High School is a participant in both the breakfast and lunch programs. During the 2015-2016 school year, 19.9% of students participated in free lunch. Out of approximately 1200 students that was about 238 students. Only 1.9% of students were on reduced lunch. Reduced lunch allows students to have 30 to 40 cents taken off of their meals (Westerberg, Talley).

Seabrook, Hampton, Hampton Falls and North Hampton are suburban areas proving that not just urban areas are the ones with the problem of childhood hunger. Some schools even offer a backpack program for the students that qualify for free or reduced lunch. Many of the children all over the country only get to eat the school meals during the week. This leaves them nutritionally unfed over the weekend and school breaks. Feeding America and the USDA have been able to provide backpacks full of nutritious food for children for over 15 years. They are packaged at more than 160 local pantries and more than 450,000 children benefit from them. This is just another way of tackling the issue of childhood hunger but it hasn’t been able to resolve the problem entirely (Backpack Program).

That brings up another federal program that has been established across the nation: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It is the largest domestic hunger program in place at the moment. Previously, it was known as the Food Stamp program. It assists millions of low-income individuals and families. To emphasize, 15 million children struggle with hunger and only about half of them are SNAP recipients. The change in name reflects the changes made to the program focusing mainly on nutrition. It allows millions to get the proper food they need. The downfall is that it doesn’t provide access to paper or hygienic needs (SNAP). Like WIC, SNAP has provided a great outcome for families, children, and individuals struggling with food insecurity. It too has not solved the issue of hunger but it has helped to decrease it as much as it can with the funding the program receives.

In all, the topic of childhood hunger is serious and can not be taken lightly. It needs to be thoughtfully considered when new programs develop. It is an ongoing problem and will continue to be until there is change in the factors that cause it and how the government funded programs work to reduce the issue. We need to promote food security for all children and make sure our future generations are getting the essential foods they need. There is a serious need for change with this issue and people need to be educated on how bad the growing problem will be in the looming future if we don’t do something about it now.

Citations

"BackPack Program." Feeding America. Feeding America, 2016. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

"Child Development." Feeding America. Feeding America, 2016. Web. 07 Jan. 2016.

Hartline-Grafton, Heather. Understanding the Connections: Food Insecurity and Obesity (n.d.): n. pag. Food Research and Action Center. Food Research and Action Center, Oct. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

"Learning First Alliance." Public School Insights Blog. NEA Healthy Futures, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2016.

"Hampton, New Hampshire." (NH 03842) Profile: Population, Maps, Real Estate, Averages, Homes, Statistics, Relocation, Travel, Jobs, Hospitals, Schools, Crime, Moving, Houses, News, Sex Offenders. Onboard Infomatics, 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

"Hungry Children Suffer." Child Hunger in America Statistics & Facts. Share Our Strength, 2015. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.

Kelly, Julie. "Michelle Obama's 'Healthy' School Lunches." National Review Online. N.p., 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.

"School Meal Eligibility « Food Research & Action Center." Food Research Action Center School Meal Eligibility Comments. Food Research and Action Center, 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)." Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). United States Department of Agriculture, 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.

Interview with Talley Westerberg on January 21, 2016.