Adequate access to healthy nutrition is a key component for children’s development. Children need food to grow and show up to school ready to learn. Yet in 2023 — the latest data available — almost one in six children in the United States lived in households that experienced food insecurity, meaning that at some point during the year they lacked the resources to acquire a healthy, balanced diet. A patchwork of public and non-profit programs provides nutrition assistance to a large number of children and helps buffer them from food insecurity. The programs play a vital role in reducing the most severe forms of food insecurity and hunger for children in the United States and have been shown to result in long-term benefits.
- Households with children experience higher levels of food insecurity than the U.S. average.
- Very low food security, a more severe hardship than food insecurity, also impacts U.S. children.
- Food purchases make up a substantial share of household income particularly among households with low income.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest food support program in the country and helps a large share of families afford food.
- School meals also provide an important supplement to the nutrition children receive at home.
- WIC, the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children, provides nutritional support targeted to children at the youngest ages.
- Having access to more resources leads to better diet quality.
- Faith-based and community-based organizations play an important role in supplementing and delivering food to households and children at nutritional risk.
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November 24, 2025