MAP OF THE DAY: This Is What Food Insecurity In America Looks Like
Shlomo Sprung
Most kids are thrilled when school ends for the summer. But for more than 16 million children nationwide, subsidized school meals are critical to providing the necessary nutrition for a healthy and active lifestyle.
Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a "lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods."
According to this map from Feed America more than 1000 American counties have at least one in four “food-insecure” children:
(SCROLL DOWN)
*
*
*
*
*
*
- A total of 14 states had child food insecurity rates in 2010, led by Arizona and Washington at 29 percent
- Most of the states are in the southeast, including Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, the Carolinas, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma
Feeding America quoted a study from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, saying that "inadequate nutrition can permanently alter a child's brain architecture and stunt their intellectual capacity, affecting the child's learning, social interaction and productivity."