Child Hunger

While food insecurity is harmful to everyone, it is particularly devastating to children. Proper nutrition is critical to a child’s development. Not having enough of the right kinds of food can have serious implications for a child’s physical and mental health, academic achievement and future economic prosperity.

Hunger doesn’t just hurt a child’s ability to learn and participate in school. It has real impact on a child’s health and well-being. Children who are hungry are more likely to suffer from poor health, be hospitalized and require long inpatient stays, suffer from ADHD and are more likely to commit suicide as a teen.

Consider what it means for our region when nearly 3 out of every 4 students enrolled in Pittsburgh Public Schools are facing hunger as an obstacle to reaching their fullest potential. When hunger threatens the future of a child it threatens the future of our region as well.