Food insufficiency was associated with poorer mathematics scores, grade repetition, absenteeism
Food insufficiency was associated with poorer mathematics scores, grade repetition, absenteeism
Part 1 – Read the following short piece on Food Insecurity in children and the connection to school performance.
Jyoti, Frongillo, and Jones (2005) define food insecurity and food insufficiency as the inadequate intake of food, especially nutritionally adequate food, due to limited financial resources. In 2019, the USDA’s Economic Research Service found that 13.9% of households with children were food insecure (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020), an improvement from 16.6% in 2015 (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2015). However, the COVID-19 pandemic with its business closures, job losses, school closures, and supply shortages, contributed to new food insecure households. For most ethnic groups, food insecurity was higher among families with children (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2020). Nearly 1 in 5 Black, Hispanic, and Other (non-Hispanic) households reported that their children often or sometimes did not have enough to eat during the week ending June 21, 2021 (Ralson, 2021).
Jyoti, Frongillo, and Jones (2005) studied the effects of food insecurity on the academic, social, and development (physical and psychological) skills of children in the US. They found that for elementary school children (6-12 years of age)
Food insufficiency was associated with poorer mathematics scores, grade repetition, absenteeism, tardiness, visits to a psychologist, anxiety, aggression, psychosocial dysfunction, and difficulty getting along with other children. [And] Among 15-to16-y-old adolescents, food insufficiency was associated with depressive disorders and suicide symptoms after controlling for income and other factors ( p.2831).
Finally, the early childhood period (defined here as infants to age 5) is critical to brain development. Johnson and Markowitz (2018) found that even one episode of food insecurity can lead to poorer outcomes. The more episodes and the more intense the food insecurity, the more likely children were to have social issues as well as poor cognitive outcomes as measured in poorer reading & math skills in preschool & kindergarten (Johnson and Markowitz, 2018).
REFERENCES
Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M.P., Gregory, C.A., and Singh, A. (2020). Household food security in the United States in 2019. Economic Research Report No. (ERR-275). United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M., Gregory, C., and Singh, A. (2016). Household food securityin the United States in 2015. Economic Research Report No. (ERR-215). United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Johnson, A.D. and Markowitz, A.J. (2018). Associations between household food insecurity in
early childhood and children’s kindergarten skills. Child Development, 89(2), e1-e17.
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12764
Jyoti, D.F., Frongillo, E.A., and Jones, S.J. (2005). Food insecurity affects school children’s academic performance, weight gain, and social skills. The Journal of Nutrition. 135, 12, pp. 2831-2839.
Ralston, K. (2021, July 22). Food and Consumers. United States Department of Agriculture,
Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/covid-19/food-and-
consumers/#sufficiency
Part 2 – Now answer the following questions in the discussion board.
- What are your initial reactions to this quote?
- If your CbSL site works with children and/or families, what-if anything- does it currently do to help food insecure families? Or what could you suggest your CbSL site do in the future to help food insecure families?
My CbSL is Be the Match and their focus is on bone marrow/ stem cell transplant. They do not focus on one particular group nor food source.
- List one innovative food program in the Chicagoland area and cite your source (e.g. give the website you used). Examples include community gardens in low income areas or restaurants proving meals on a sliding scale or other innovative ways of feeding the hungry.
Nourishing Hope – Sheridan Market
https://www.nourishinghopechi.org/
PHD Health & Medical
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