Hunger + Poverty in RI

RIC conference puts youth food insecurity in spotlight
Food stamps — which 17% of R.I. families use — not enough to combat hunger, expert says

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hunger hits children the hardest. The youngest are typically the most invisible because they are not seen by teachers or child-care providers.

“The first 1,000 days of life are critical,” said Dr. Deborah Frank, a professor of child health and well-being at the Boston University School of Medicine. “It’s a period of brain growth that a child will never have again.”

Frank joined Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and First Gentleman Andy Moffit at a statewide childhood hunger conference at Rhode Island College on Thursday. The event, which drew 100 advocates, was organized the City of Providence and sponsored by RIC, the Rhode Island Food Bank, the state Department of Education and the National League of Cities.

Moffit, the husband of Governor Raimondo, said one out of seven households in Rhode Island struggles to put food on the table and one in three are under age 18. “This is not another person’s issue,” he said.

Frank, the breakfast keynote speaker, described the numerous ways in which food insecurity, defined as families who run out of food or are at risk of running out by the end of the month, harms the health of young children. Food insecurity is embedded in a chain of disadvantages, from difficulty in paying for utilities to uncertainty around housing and work.

Frank, the founder of Children’s HealthWatch, said mothers who lack proper nutrition are at greater risk for having low birth-weight babies, birth defects and higher rates of infant mortality.

“Food insecure children are two times more likely to have health problems,” she said. “They are more likely to be hospitalized, to be anemic and to suffer from broken bones.”

As these children grow, they often have trouble with language development, attention and motor skills. There is research that shows that poor math scores are tied to children with poor or inadequate nutrition.

Food stamps are a big help, but, Frank said, “the dose is too low.”

The average person on food stamps gets $1.30 per meal.

In Rhode Island, 17 percent of families receive food stamps, formerly known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The program reaches 90 percent of the people who are eligible for food stamps in Rhode Island.

Last year, President Obama signed a bill that will cut $8.7 billion in food stamps benefits over the next 10 years. The Republicans had pushed for much deeper cuts, between $20 billion and $39 billion.

lborg@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7823

On Twitter: @lborgprojocom