“It is a real eye-opener to see that so many states have such high rates of child food insecurity (不安全) and hunger,” says author John Cook, an expert on child hunger. He says lack of healthful food can damage a child’s physical and mental development.

　　Nationwide, the report finds that 13 million children, or 18%, were hungry or at risk of hunger. New Hampshire had 7% of the share of kids facing hunger, followed by North Dakota with 9%. States with rates of 20% or above included California, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah. The District of Columbia also was in this group.

　　The report also said that nearly 15 million low-income children get free school lunches, and 7 million get free breakfasts. More than 50,000 also take home backpacks on Fridays that are filled with a few pounds of healthful food provided by local food banks and churches.

　　“The problem is the gap in services,” says researcher Jan Pruitt. She says not all needy families get food stamps and free school meals because of the shame of being poor.

　　In Texas, Pruitt says, demand for food has steadily risen in recent years as working poor families struggle to pay for gas and housing. She says the state has a high poverty rate and large rural areas, so there is one food store for every 480 square miles.

　　Relatively few kids — less than 1% — lived in “very low food security” households where members ate less because they could not afford to buy enough food. In these households, adults are the ones most likely to skip meals because “parents have to protect their kids from hunger”.

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