Section 141 of The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 20101 provides funding for a research program on the causes and consequences of childhood hunger and food insecurity, and the characteristics of households with childhood hunger and food insecurity, with a particular focus on efforts to improve the knowledge base regarding contributing factors, geographic distribution, programmatic effectiveness, public health and medical costs, and consequences for child development, well-being, and educational attainment. The Economic Research Service and Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture conducted two outreach efforts to obtain input from the research community and other stakeholders to help focus on areas and methods with the greatest research potential. First, Food and Nutrition Service sought written comments to selected questions through publication of a Federal Register Notice. The second option was to convene a workshop under the auspices of the Committee on National Statistics of the National Research Council and the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine.

Research Opportunities Concerning the Causes and Consequences of Child Food Insecurity and Hunger is the summary of that workshop, convened in Fall 2012 to examine research gaps and opportunities to advance understanding of the causes and consequences of child hunger in the United States. This report reviews the adequacy of current knowledge, identifies substantial research gaps, and considers data availability of economic, health, social, cultural, demographic, and other factors that contribute to childhood hunger or food insecurity. It also considers the geographic distribution of childhood hunger and food insecurity; the extent to which existing federal assistance programs reduce childhood hunger and food insecurity; childhood hunger and food insecurity persistence, and the extent to which it is due to gaps in program coverage; and the inability of potential participants to access programs, or the insufficiency of program benefits or services.

Research Opportunities Concerning the Causes and Consequences of Child Food Insecurity and Hunger will be a resource to inform discussions about the public health and medical costs of childhood hunger and food insecurity through its focus on determinants of child food insecurity and hunger, individual, community, and policy responses to hunger, impacts of child food insecurity and hunger, and measurement and surveillance issues.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON RESEARCH GAPS—CAUSES AND CONSE QUENCES OF CHILD FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER
• COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS 2013–2014
• FOOD AND NUTRITION BOARD
• Reviewers
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Defining and Measuring Food Security
  • DEFINING FOOD SECURITY
  • HISTORY
  • MEASURING FOOD SECURITY
• 3. Individual and Household Determinants of Child Food Insecurity and Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF CRAIG GUNDERSEN
  • STATEMENT OF ALISHA COLEMAN-JENSEN
  • STATEMENT OF SANDERS KORENMAN
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 4. Contextual Factors Linked to Child Food Insecurity and Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF SCOTT ALLARD
  • STATEMENT OF LUCIA KAISER
  • STATEMENT OF BRUCE WEBER
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 5. Individual and Family Coping Responses to Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF MARIANA CHILTON
  • STATEMENT OF SARAH ZAPOLSKY
  • STATEMENT OF COLLEEN HEFLIN
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 6. Community Responses to Food Insecurity and Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF KATHERINE ALAIMO
  • STATEMENT OF JOEL BERG
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 7. Public Policy Responses to Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF DAVID RIBAR
  • STATEMENT OF LARA SHORE-SHEPPARD
  • STATEMENT OF JAMES WEILL
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 8. Health and Developmental Correlates of Child Food Insecurity from Pregnancy to Adolescence
  • STATEMENT OF BARBARA LARAIA
  • STATEMENT OF RAFAEL PÉREZ-ESCAMILLA
  • STATEMENT OF ALISON JACKNOWITZ
  • STATEMENT OF JOHN COOK
  • STATEMENT OF DIANE SCHANZENBACH
  • STATEMENT OF HILARY SELIGMAN
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 9. Measurement and Surveillance of Child Food Insecurity and Hunger
  • STATEMENT OF EDWARD FRONGILLO
  • STATEMENT OF MARK NORD
  • STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH ADAMS
  • STATEMENT OF MAUREEN BLACK
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• 10. Wrap-Up
  • CLOSING REMARKS
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
• Bibliography
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Agenda
  • Appendix B Registered Participants

Rapporteurs: Nancy Kirkendall, Carol House, and Connie Citro.

This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. AG-32SB-C-12-0001 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Support of the work of the Committee on National Statistics is provided by a consortium of federal agencies through a grant from the National Science Foundation (No. SES-1024012). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Suggested citation:

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2013). Research Opportunities Concerning the Causes and Consequences of Child Food Insecurity and Hunger: A Workshop Summary. N. Kirkendall, C. House, and C.F. Citro, Rapporteurs. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.