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1 child in 6 lives in poverty compared to 1 in 8 adults. That’s 11.9 million impoverished children in the U.S.
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Children in the U.S. experience higher poverty rates than most developed nations.
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Today, the poverty line for a family of 4 is about $26K – half the income needed for basic financial security.
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Food insecurity has lasting effects like low reading & math scores, & more physical & mental health problems.
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In 2017, 40 million people struggled with hunger in the United States.

1 child in every 7 will be born
into poverty in the United States.
Students from 16 to 24 years old from low-income families are 7x more likely to drop out than more well-off peers.
Almost 40% of American children spend at least 1 year in poverty before they turn 18.
Between 2012 and 2014, federal spending fell for childrens’ education, nutrition, social services and early education and care. The government spends just 10% of the national budget on children — a fraction of what other developed countries spend.
the top 3 states with the
HIGHEST RATES
of child poverty
(Based on 2014 census data and presented by the National Center for Children in Poverty.)
These 8 states have the highest rates of food insecurity across the U.S.: Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine and Oklahoma.
Arkansas is ranked 44th of 51 (states and Washington D.C.) in terms of child poverty. But that’s where Children International works.
See how we’re helping
.
Source
- Dosomething.org, 11 Facts About Hunger in the US
- Children'sDefense.org, Child Poverty in America 2017: State Analysis, September 13, 2018
- 2020 Poverty Guidelines, January 21, 2020
- ChildrensDefense.org, New Census Data Reveals Continued Child Poverty Crisis in America, September 10, 2019
- The Population of Poverty USA,