By Kara Ryan, Senior Research Analyst, Health Policy Project, NCLR
On a visit to San Antonio, I sat in a living room with Velma, a retired chef and grandmother raising six grandsons who range in age from eight to 16. Velma had agreed to be interviewed as part of NCLR’s Comer Bien story and video collection project, which features Latino families sharing their experiences putting food on the table and highlights multiple factors that affect Hispanics’ access to nutritious food.
Living on a fixed income, Velma must make her Social Security check last for four weeks—and this is no easy feat, especially if an unexpected expense arises or a utility bill is higher than she anticipated. Food takes up a large portion of Velma’s budget, something she has in common with many Hispanic families; thanks to lower household incomes, Latinos generally spend a larger proportion of their resources on food than do non-Hispanic Whites. She worries about being able to afford enough food to feed the entire family, especially toward the end of the month when her money is dwindling.
As Velma talked, it became clear that she was one of the 13.3 million Hispanics living with food insecurity in the U.S., as estimated by a new USDA report and statistical supplement released today. More than one-quarter of all Latinos struggled with food insecurity in 2010. Rates of food insecurity in households with children, like Velma’s, were even higher; nearly one in three (30.6%) Hispanic families with children lived with food insecurity, compared to about one in seven (14.4%) non-Hispanic White families where kids were present.
The data also show that nearly four million Latinos live in food insecurity with hunger (“very low food security”). That means that in these families, someone—usually a parent or caregiver—sometimes eats less than they should or goes to bed on an empty stomach. Indeed, Velma skips meals about twice per week in order to give the grandchildren her portion. “I always take care of the kids,” she told me. “If there’s some left over, I eat. If not, I’ll survive.”
Despite families’ best efforts, Latino children—for the fourth year in a row—make up the largest share (40.8%) of the nearly one million kids living with hunger in this country.
Failure to alleviate food insecurity within the Hispanic community—the fastest-growing segment of the child population—will have devastating effects on our future as a nation. Children living with food insecurity often experience nutritional deficits that lead to serious physical, mental, and behavioral health conditions, and may face an increased risk of child overweight and obesity.
The new USDA numbers provide more evidence of a mounting problem that demands action. We need a comprehensive policy solution that takes into account the many social and economic factors—such as income, neighborhood safety, transportation, medical care, and access to federal nutrition programs—that affect Latinos’ food security. Sign up to receive health and nutrition updates from NCLR, and we’ll alert you about opportunities to weigh in with policymakers and take action to improve the food security and nutrition of Latino children and families.
Find out more about Velma and other families’ experiences by downloading the story booklet, videos, and blog series at our web page, www.nclr.org/comerbien.