Nearly 1 in 5 young children in the United States are not getting enough to eat, new research found.

Research released Wednesday shows a rise in food insecurity without modern precedent. Nearlya fifth of young children are not getting enough to eat, according to surveys of their mothers by the Brookings Institution, a rate three times higher than in 2008 at the worst of the Great Recession, reports Jason DeParle.

When food runs short, parents often skip meals to keep children fed. But a survey of households with children 12 and under by Lauren Bauer, a Brookings fellow in economic studies, found that 17.4 percent reported the children themselves not eating enough, compared to5.7 percent in the Great Recession. Inadequate nutrition can leave young children with permanent developmental damage.

"This is alarming," she said. "These are households cutting back on portion sizes, having kids skip meals. The numbers are much higher than I expected."

Ms. Bauer said disruptions in school meal programs may be part of the problem, with some families unable to reach distribution sites and older siblings at home competing for limited food.

Ms. Bauer has been collecting data for the Hamilton Project's Future of the Middle Class Initiative Survey of Mothers with Young Children. Analyzing a separate nationally representative sample, the Covid Impact Survey, Ms. Bauer found nearly 23 percent of households said they lacked money to get enough food, compared to about 16 percent at the worst of the Great Recession. Among households with children, the share without enough food was nearly 35 percent, up from about 21percent in the previous downturn.

The findings come as Democrats and Republicans are at odds over proposals to raise food stamp benefits. Democrats want to increase benefits by 15 percent for the duration of the economic downturn, arguing that a similar move in 2009 reduced hunger in the Great Recession. Congress hasenacted a short-term increase for about 60 percent of the caseload, but the increase omits the poorest recipients. Citing large expansions of other safety-net programs, Republicans say that is sufficient to meet rising needs.

GOING WITHOUT An article in March told the story of a Texas woman who skipped meals so her children could eat. New research suggests more children are now going hungry.

New York Times, May 6, 2020

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May 6, 2020

Voices4America Post Script. This is the third article I posted today to remind you how hungry children are in America. Read them! Share them! Let's do something about it! #TrumpPandemic #FeedAmericaNow