Poverty, food insecurity and Hispanic children

In 2009, nearly 1 in every 5 children in the United States lived in families that used emergency food assistance through Feeding America, the nation's largest organization of emergency food providers. Higher shares of Hispanic and black children used emergency food assistance than white children, reflecting their higher rates of poverty. Emergency food assistance may be the only option for immigrant families, which may not be eligible for government help. While the majority of families using emergency food assistance also accessed at least one of the federal nutrition assistance programs, only one in four received food stamps.

The brief “Emergency Food Assistance Helps Many Low-Income Hispanic Children,” published by the Urban Institute, highlights the characteristics of children in families that use emergency food assistance, focusing especially on Hispanic children.

Most children in families using food assistance are food insecure and poor. Hispanic households that use emergency food assistance tend to have more members than other racial and ethnic groups, a factor that places additional pressure on food budgets. The majority of families that tap into the emergency food assistance network also receive help from federal nutrition assistance programs. Hispanic families, however, are less likely than others to get help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation's largest federal food assistance program. Hispanic families more often include noncitizens who may be ineligible for SNAP. Their lower participation also may reflect confusion about rules governing citizens and immigrants or less awareness of the program. While Hispanic families received SNAP less often, they did frequently get help from programs such as school nutrition and WIC.

The U.S. emergency food assistance network plays an important role in meeting families’ needs, especially during tough economic times.

Source: Urban Institute, “Emergency Food Assistance Helps Many Low-Income Hispanic Children”, October 05, 2010.