Medical data provides compelling evidence that hungry children, even those who experience only milk under-nutrition during the critical stages of their development, may suffer negative life altering consequences. Children denied an adequate diet may suffer abnormal cognitive, brain and psychological development which, if not corrected, can be irreparable.

Demographic information gives a glimpse into childhood hunger both locally and across Ohio.

• The child poverty rate in Ohio is 18.6%
• 98,810 children received food assistance from the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank member agencies in 2007
• In 2001, the average daily participation in the school lunch program providing free or reduced lunches was 945,260 children at 4,270 schools
• During the summer of 2007, the participation in the Summer Food Service Program was 113,224 school children, (representing only 4.7% of those in the school lunch program).

An observation made by any teacher in the American school system supports the medical evidence: it is more difficult for a hungry child to succeed in the classroom. They suffer more absences due to illness, have shorter attention spans and, in general, have a harder time learning.

A child that is unequipped to learn because of hunger and poverty is more likely to be poor as an adult. Although hunger has usually been considered a consequence of poverty, evidence now suggests that childhood hunger may also be a cause of poverty.

Click here to learn more about childhood hunger.