One in five U.S. households with children were food-insecure at some time in 2013

In 2013, 19.5 percent of U.S. households with children were food insecure at some time during the year. Parents often are able to maintain normal or near-normal diets and meal patterns for their children, even when the parents themselves are food insecure. In about half of food-insecure households with children in 2013, only adults were food insecure. But in 9.9 percent of households with children (3.8 million households) both children and adults experienced food insecurity. In 0.9 percent of households with children (360,000 households), food insecurity among children was so severe that caregivers reported that children were hungry, skipped a meal, or did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food. The subset of households with children experiencing these difficult conditions was down from 1.2 percent in 2012. This chart appears in Household Food Security in the United States in 2013, ERR-173, released September 3, 2014.

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