Food insecurity and hunger is causing many young people to stay with friends or relatives, engage in criminal behavior, and sell sex or drugs to buy food, according to a new study. An estimated 6.8 million people ages 10 to 17 are food insecure, meaning they don’t have reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. Another 2.9 million are very food insecure, and roughly 4 million live in marginally food secure households, where the threat of running out of food is real. The report analyses the results of 20 focus groups with at-risk teenagers in 10 communities, finding that teen food insecurity is widespread but that young people will go to great lengths to hide their struggle to find food. Some participants talked about intentionally going to jail or failing classes in order to attend summer school as viable strategies for ensuring regular meals, according to the study.
Source: Urban Institute, 9/12/16, Teen Hunger
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