Latino Immigrant Children More Likely to Go Hungry
Nearly one in five children in the United States lives in a family that struggles to put food on the table, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Latino children of immigrants are even more likely to be at risk of hunger, according to by Bread for the World Institute.
More than 30 percent of Latino children live in households where they don’t get enough to eat, and a third of Latino families rely on food banks to help feed their families. Recent U.S. Census Bureau poverty figures show that more than one in four Latinos lived below the poverty line in 2009, and 56 percent of immigrant children live in low-income families.
“More than half of immigrant children in the United States live in impoverished households where food is scarce,” said Ivone Guillen, immigration policy fellow at Bread for the World Institute. “Sadly, many children do not participate in federal safety-net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP (formerly food stamps) and free school meals