courtesy: Houston Food Bank
Texas is the second highest state with food insecurity (after Mississippi), and ranks number one with having the highest percentage of child hunger in the United States.
- 22.1% of children under the age of 18 suffer from food security
- 23.3% of children under the age of five suffer from food security
This means that more that one in five children live in a household facing food insecurity.
How can food insecurity affect a child?
Research has proven that a child who suffers a mild undernourishment nutrition during the years of development can have an impact on their behavior, their school performance and an overall cognitive development.
…So how are these characteristics of mild undernourishment be reflected academically in Texas schools?
Could there be a link between poverty, hunger and low academic performance?
Below is the link to some slides obtained from the Center for Public Policy Priorities showing graphs explaining the links that could probably exists between poverty, hunger and poor academic performances and drop out rates.
These slide also explain the actions that should be taken to reduce food insecurity in Texas, such as enforce federal child nutrition programs like after school meals, summer feeding service programs, SNAP and WIC.
