Across Arizona, the pandemic has only heightened the need for food resources. With social distancing orders and other measures in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the impact of food insecurity is being felt in communities large and small. Hungry kids can’t learn, weakening a child’s foundation for success in school, work and life.
Food insecurity can lead to malnourishment, impairing children’s development and leading to chronic diseases. Hunger is not a simple problem for families, especially for children. For example, if a family is living paycheck to paycheck there might not be dinner every night until payday comes around.
In fact, one in four children experiences hunger and is unsure of where their next meal is coming from.Įxperts define food insecurity as having problems getting food, a shortage of food in the house or reduced food intake for individuals and families. Did you know food insecurity is a health, education and financial stability problem? According to statistics from Feeding America, there are 937,300 people struggling with hunger in Arizona, of which 311,390 are children.
