In the United States more than 13 million children are food insecure, meaning they have little or no access to food on a regular basis. In their 2010 study, Feeding America, formerly known as America's Second Harvest, reported an 18 percent increase from 2008 in their 2006-2008 report: Child Food Insecurity in the United States.
The report said in Indiana, more than 250,000 children have limited access to adequate or safe food. According to the report, the numbers of food-insecure children are rising, going up 3.1 percent in the past year. This places Indiana at number nine in the nation on Feeding America's list of states with the highest increase for food insecurity for children during the past year.
Emily Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana's Hungry, Inc., said she believed the rising numbers are due primarily to the state of the economy.
"Folks are used to being able to pay bills and getting and keeping jobs, so more people are living paycheck to paycheck now," she said.
Federally-funded anti-hunger initiatives run through schools, such as the BackPack Program and the National School Lunch Program, which help during the school year. But summertime is often a hungry time for food-insecure children.
Bryant said she doesn't see the upward trend in insecurity coming down anytime soon. She said that while economists are saying America is coming out of the recession, it will take time for wages to rise up to combat the food insecurity.
"We don't expect any tremendous change quickly, [and] we're not expecting a decrease in the next year," she said.
According to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture entitled "Food Insecurity in Households With Children: Prevalence, Severity, and Household Characteristics," numerous studies have been conducted proving a link between food insecurity and health and development problems in children.
These studies have shown an increase in colds and other minor maladies, behavioral problems in young children, low physical function, anxiety and depression in school-age children and rates of "depressive disorder and suicidal symptoms in adolescents" in food-insecure children.
While the USDA report places Indiana as one of the relatively few states sitting above the national average, the rising numbers is a great cause for concern. There is much need for volunteers and donations around the state, Bryant said.
"We [Feeding Indiana's Hungry] feed 700,000 Hoosiers every year," Bryant said.
There is much college students can do to relieve the strain on communities' food banks, including volunteering at local shelters and food banks and affiliated agencies and holding food drives at the end of semesters, Bryant said. In a statement, she made a call for Hoosiers to work together in order to end child hunger.
"All children should be able to grow up without experiencing want, especially in Indiana, where food is abundant and neighbors care for neighbors. We must put an end to child hunger," she said.
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