One in four American children live in households without enough food to go around, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At 17 million, there are more children battling hunger today since officials started keeping track in 1995. While food insecurity — the federal government's catch phrase for not having enough food to support a healthy lifestyle — has increased by 40 percent across the board since the recession began, economic hard times have hit kids the hardest. Families with children struggle with food insecurity at almost double the rate of childless households. The number relying on food pantries has increased by 66 percent since 2007.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 helped temporarily offset the impact of the recession by investing extra money in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program). Two years later, though, economic recovery is still inching along and the number of people signing up for food assistance is still on the uptick. Even as economists warn of a second recession, child nutrition programs like SNAP are on the chopping block.

"We are not out of the danger zone," said Mariana Chilton, an associate professor at Drexel University and one of the nation's leading hunger experts. "In some ways our nation's future is very insecure in the same way a family can be food insecure. The worry of shut-off notices, the worry of not being able to afford enough food, the worry of mounting debt, all with the knowledge that this situation is going to harm our health, our potential. It makes for a very scary and depressing time."

read more