This number looks a lot scarier than it is. Food "insecurity" is an arbitrary threshold based largely on how people feel. Based on the same data, children very rarely go hungry in America.

0.6% of children skipped a single meal in a 12 month period. 0.9% of children got hungry at least once in a 12 month period.

alternatively, you and your children are considered insecure if in a 12 month period they answer yes to the following:

A parent lost weight

Adult(s) cut size or skipped meals in 3 or more months

Relied on few kinds of low-cost food to feed child(ren)

Here is the actual USDA survey data that supports that fact:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-021-03320-2

more background:

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo...

https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/313486/

I still think all of those scenarios are pretty scary. Especially for the child(ren).

You know when your family is poor. Children share that mental and emotional burden, and it will follow them through life.

The kinds of food they eat will, in the majority of cases, lead to obesity and diabetes.