Childhood Food Insecurity
in Duluth, MN
19.5% Food Insecurity
According to research conducted by nonprofit organization Feeding America, in 2014 there were 7,330 food insecure youth in St. Louis County alone. 12.2% of all St. Louis County residents were food insecure, but even more troubling was the statistic that 18.8% of St. Louis County children were food insecure. However, one year earlier in 2013, 19.5% of St. Louis County youth were food insecure, so it appears that St. Louis County is moving in the right direction toward ending childhood hunger.
Health Defects
Iron deficiency has been found to cause a variety of health defects, especially in the early stages of childhood development. According to an article published by Janice Ke, MSc and Elizabeth Lee Ford-Jones, MD on the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s website, “children from food-insecure households were two times more likely to experience persistent symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention than children who are not food insecure.”
Food Bank
The Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that serves food insecure individuals in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. 600 people on average receive food from this organization every day. Not only does this food bank serve people directly, but they distribute food to around 180 programs and companies helping to combat food insecurity.
Northland Community
According to an article published in June of 2016, Duluth and the surrounding northland community have a higher average percentage of hungry youth than both Minnesota and Wisconsin averages. This information was obtained from a report published by “Map The Meal Gap,” which provides data on adult and youth hunger for much of the United States. Author of the article Dave Strandberg states 18.8 percent of youth in St. Louis County have limited access to enough food, hindering them from leading healthy and active lives. This is higher than the Minnesota statewide average of 15.2 percent.
Grow & Learn
Carinne Deeds, a Program Associate at American Youth Policy Forum, argues that food insecurity plays a large role in a child’s ability to grow and learn. Specifically, food insecure children fall short in “cognitive, emotional, and physical development” when compared to their peers who have enough food. Deeds goes also asserts that unhealthy food is often cheaper than healthy food, and is subsequently found more frequently in food insecure households.
13 million children
The Food Research and Action Center, in April 2015, found that one in every 6 households stated they were unable to purchase the necessary amount of food to feed themselves and/or their families. Additionally, a study conducted by the Economic Research Service at the United States Department of Agriculture reported that as of September 2015, 13 million children were living in food insecure households.