One of every four children in New Mexico and Texas lives in households that struggle to provide enough food at some point during the year, a report says. The report is the first to give a state-by-state look at child hunger.
“It is a real eye-opener to see that so many states have such high rates of child food insecurity (不安全) and hunger,” says author John Cook, an expert on child hunger. He says lack of healthful food can damage a child’s physical and mental development.
Nationwide, the report finds that 13 million children, or 18%, were hungry or at risk of hunger. New Hampshire had 7% of the share of kids facing hunger, followed by North Dakota with 9%. States with rates of 20% or above included California, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah. The District of Columbia also was in this group.
The report also said that nearly 15 million low-income children get free school lunches, and 7 million get free breakfasts. More than 50,000 also take home backpacks on Fridays that are filled with a few pounds of healthful food provided by local food banks and churches.
“The problem is the gap in services,” says researcher Jan Pruitt. She says not all needy families get food stamps and free school meals because of the shame of being poor.
In Texas, Pruitt says, demand for food has steadily risen in recent years as working poor families struggle to pay for gas and housing. She says the state has a high poverty rate and large rural areas, so there is one food store for every 480 square miles.
Relatively few kids — less than 1% — lived in “very low food security” households where members ate less because they could not afford to buy enough food. In these households, adults are the ones most likely to skip meals because “parents have to protect their kids from hunger”.
Researchers expect the number of food insecure people nationwide will rise because of higher food and energy prices.
72. According to John Cook, the result of the study _______.
A. is not completely believable B. called people’s attention to child hunger
C. only covers some states of the US D. was kept secret for a long time
73. In the District of Columbia, the percentage of kids facing hunger may be about _______.
A. 7% B. 9% C. 18% D. 20%
74. According to Jan Pruitt, we can learn that _______.
A. schools play the biggest role in helping the hungry children
B. some hungry people feel shame for being poor and refuse help
C. there are enough food stores in most of the rural areas in Texas
D. the prices of gas and housing are likely to reduce in the future
75. What does the underlined part “skip meals” probably mean?
A. To cook meals. B. To buy meals. C. Not to have meals. D. Not to accept meals.