Tomorrow, Voices for Children, along with Hunger Free Heartland, the Food Bank of the Heartland, the Food Bank of Lincoln, and others who care about ending hunger in Nebraska are hosting an Anti-Hunger Advocacy Day. This event will allow people to learn about hunger in Nebraska, important programs that help prevent hunger, and provide attendees with the opportunity to meet policymakers to make their voice heard and provide important information on how to reduce hunger in our state. Our Kids Count in Nebraska Report provides some data on hunger and food insecurity in Nebraska.
Source: “Household Food Security in the United States in 2011,” USDA, http://www.ers.usda.gov
13.4% of households were food insecure in 2010-2012 and 5% of households had very low food security. Food insecurity is defined as a limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain abilities to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. Additionally 5% of Nebraska households had eating patterns of one or more members disrupted or reduced due to lack of money or resources for food, meaning there was not enough money or food available to feed everyone in the household, so someone had to go hungry.
With poverty rates remaining high in recent years, it is not surprising that many families with children struggle to put food on the table. Approximately 106,834 households in Nebraska were food insecure in 2012. This number has been rising greatly in recent years.
Hunger in children has been linked to life-long negative affects such as increased risk of health issues, especially a higher risk of being overweight or obese, higher health care costs, lower education attainment, higher school dropout rates, and the perpetuation of poverty.
To participate in Anti-Hunger Advocacy Day, register for the free event, or simply make your voice heard by helping us make the hunger issue viral in the heartland by using #antihungerday.
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