Ana O’Quin was a 2019 recipient of the Center for Public Justice’s Hatfield Prize. O’Quin (Baylor University ‘20) and faculty advisor Dr. Stephanie Clintonia Boddie researched food insecurity among teens in their community of Waco, Texas. Here she offers a short introduction to an excerpt of her report.
BY ANA O’QUIN
One of the most rewarding experiences of college has been engaging as a volunteer and mentor at a local high school. In walking closely with a group of teens, I started to notice signs of cyclical poverty in their lives, particularly around the issue of food. Every time we would hang out, I would make sure that food was a part of our time together, but felt so discouraged by the fact that providing one meal only felt like a drop in a bucket of an overwhelming issue of their persistent hunger.
For me, research became an incredible avenue to what felt like real change. Researching teen food insecurity opened my eyes to the breadth and depth of the issue, but also gave me a sense of hope that there were actions steps that our systems and communities can take to combat it. Teen food insecurity is real, but as informed citizens and people of faith, there are clear steps we can began to take against it. Researching gave me the hope that our society should, and can, be free of it.
An Excerpt from “The Hidden Epidemic of Teen Food Insecurity”
DISCOVER
Mia is sixteen years old, the oldest of four siblings, and lives in a loving but financially burdened household. She attends a nearby public high school, is on the basketball team, and works part-time at McDonalds. Mia’s mother, the primary caregiver in her house, works two jobs to try to keep food on the table for Mia and her siblings. Mia’s mother receives $465 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, however the benefits are not sufficient to keep each family member fed throughout the month. Some nights Mia tells her mother she’s not hungry because she knows that the pantry will be empty by the end of the month if she chooses to eat.
This fictional account is representative of the experience of millions of young people in the United States. For many teenagers, like Mia, food insecurity is an ever-present reality. Food insecurity, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is a condition that is identified by disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake due to limited access to food. While hunger is distinct from food insecurity because it describes a physiological condition, it will be used interchangeably with food insecurity throughout this report. Another important dimension of food insecurity is the difference between nutritious and non-nutritious foods. Although teens are also impacted by the interaction between food insecurity and nutritious foods, this report will primarily focus on the amount, not type or quality, of food.
In the United States, teenagers, defined as youth between the ages of 13 and 18, are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. In fiscal year 2017, some 40 million people lived in food-insecure households, 12.5 million of whom were children below the age of 18. Households with teenagers experience higher rates of food insecurity than do households with only younger children. An estimated 10 percent of teenage girls and 14 percent of boys aged 12-18 report not having enough to eat. When hungry, it is difficult, if not impossible, for teens to thrive in school, extracurricular activities, and relationships with family and friends. These areas of development are foundational to physical, social, and emotional health and when absent can be detrimental to teens’ opportunities later in life.
Why are Teens Food-Insecure?
While there are a variety of factors that contribute to teen food insecurity, the primary reason is an inability to afford the basic expense of food. In 2015, the prevalence of very low food security among children was three times higher among poor households compared to all households. As the parent of any teenager knows, as children grow they consume more food. The calorie intake of male adolescents, for example, rises significantly between the ages of 14 and 17. Additionally, teens experience strong social stigma related to food insecurity, and feel hesitant to either talk about their hunger or receive food assistance in their communities. Many choose to go without food to avoid setting themselves apart from their peers. This can prevent teens from reaching out to institutions in their communities that may offer help.
For some teenagers, hunger may reflect an attempt to shoulder household responsibility for younger siblings. Teens who have siblings often feel the need to forgo or share their meals with younger siblings or other important people in their lives. Some teens may even feel more concern for their parents’ hunger than their own. Teens may decide to work to fill the food gap, yet those who seek employment to address food insecurity are often met with barriers. Researchers have expressed concern about the long-term decline in teen labor force participation and employment. The employment rate for teens has dropped from 53 percent in 1994 to 35.7 percent in 2018. Other factors that contribute to rising teen food insecurity include teen homelessness, difficulty for teens in identifying community resources, and limited meal programs during the summer.
It is important to note racial disparities in food insecurity rates, as well as differences across geographic regions. African American households are more than twice as likely to be food insecure compared to white households. One in four African-American teens are food insecure. The national average in 2017 for food insecurity was 12.3 percent, yet 22.5 percent of African American households and 18.5 percent of Hispanic households were food insecure. The disproportionately high representation of minority workers in the low-wage workforce, the racial wealth gap, and other factors contribute to the racial inequality of hunger. Disparities continue in terms of the geographic makeup of food insecurity. Rural counties make up 63 percent of all U.S. counties but represent 79 percent of counties with the highest rates of food insecurity. The highest rates of food insecurity are in the South, with New Mexico, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas making up the top five food insecure states, as of 2017.
“When hungry, it is difficult, if not impossible, for teens to thrive in school, extracurricular activities, and relationships with family and friends.”
Teen food insecurity can have detrimental short and long-term effects on teens themselves as well as society as a whole. A study of 20 focus groups in 10 communities across the United States conducted by the Urban Institute and Feeding America found that teens engage in risky behaviors for access to consistent meals. Teens in all 10 of the communities talked about peers or acquaintances selling their bodies for food, especially in high-poverty communities. Most often, sexual exploitation meant transactional dating of much older adults. Other teens, mostly males, in all but two of the communities discussed partaking in criminal behavior, such as shoplifting, stealing items, or selling drugs, to get food. Kristin Mmari, a Johns Hopkins public health scholar, and her multidisciplinary team found similar findings in their study with youth in six neighborhoods in Baltimore city. Males exposed to persistent food insecurity, in one study conducted between 1999 and 2007, had a 96 percent higher misconduct rate compared to males who were raised in consistently food secure households. In some communities, teens even discussed skipping school or purposefully failing classes to ensure regular meals; whether to have more time to work or to be placed in summer school where meals are served. Although it is difficult to isolate risky behaviors from other contributing factors, these trends should raise red flags for communities with teens experiencing food insecurity.
While early childhood is an important window for brain development, critical development also occurs during teen years. Biologically, our gut is the “the key to our brain”, capable of altering the brain’s ability to process information and generate and regulate behavior. At school, students who are food-insecure are at a higher risk of falling behind academically than their food-secure peers. Hungry teens also have lower math scores, and are more likely to repeat a grade, come to school late, or miss school entirely. When students are provided breakfast at school, academic achievement rises.
Not only do students fall behind in school when hungry, but there is also a substantial body of research that links food insecurity and poor child health. Child food insecurity can contribute to a multitude of health problems, including asthma, more frequent colds, iron deficiency, anemia, and general lower physical functioning. Food insecurity, which can lead to a low-nutrition diet for children, is also linked to high rates of obesity. Household food insecurity has also been linked to parent-reported mental health problems for male and female teens, including suicidal thoughts. Researchers are continuing to explore the intersection of food insecurity with criminal behavior, racial disparities, and health costs to society. If we are to move towards a more just, equitable, and healthy society, addressing teen food insecurity must be a top priority.
Although teens acutely experience food insecurity and its consequences, there is still a sufficient gap in research regarding this population. Most research has focused on all children under the age of 18, instead of focusing specifically on the population of teens age 13 to 18. The USDA reports children in households as one unit, and does not differentiate by age. Researchers have begun to label teen food insecurity as a “hidden epidemic” and emphasize the need for further research.
In order to address this hidden epidemic and the individual and societal consequences of teen hunger, a strong and innovative social safety net must exist. The social safety net is a network of government programs, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, congregations, and businesses that aid the most vulnerable in society by meeting their basic needs.
“If we are to move towards a more just, equitable, and healthy society, addressing teen food insecurity must be a top priority.”
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the government’s largest program addressing hunger and is a pillar of the social safety net. Administered by the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the USDA, SNAP provides low-income individuals and families with nutrition assistance. The goal of SNAP is not to keep individuals and families dependent on benefits, but instead to support them in achieving self-sufficiency. Although most teens below the age of 18 are not directly eligible for SNAP benefits, they rely on the benefits that their caregivers receive and should be included in policy conversations concerning SNAP. Sixty-eight percent of SNAP recipients were families with children in 2017, and in a typical month, SNAP supports one in four children in the U.S. Nearly half of SNAP recipients are children.
SNAP benefits are distributed through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), which functions as a debit card that can be used in 263,100 authorized locations nationwide. This includes stores ranging from Dollar General and convenience stores to Target and large supermarkets. Eighty percent of SNAP benefits are redeemed at large supermarkets. Every federal fiscal year, SNAP deductions, maximum allotments, and income eligibility standards are adjusted. Maximum allotments are based on the Thrifty Food Plan, a model budget of affordable and nutritious foods for a family of four. Maximum benefits for families of different sizes are determined by a formula in which smaller households get slightly more per person, and larger households slightly less. A household is expected to spend 30 percent of their net income on food, and this amount is subtracted from the maximum benefit to determine the benefit allotment. Households can subtract deductions, such as money spent for child care, from their gross income to create a new net income, which can lead to larger benefit sizes. EBT cards can be used to buy edible items such as bread, meats, and fruits and vegetables. To be eligible for SNAP, a household must have a gross monthly income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line, must have a net income at or below the poverty line after deductions, and must have assets that fall below a certain threshold.
States have a significant amount of discretion in administering SNAP, especially as it relates to eligibility requirements. Although this discretion may not impact teens directly, it can significantly impact the parents of teens who are already struggling to provide for their households. Recently, some states have proposed stricter work requirements and drug tests for applicants, for example. States can also receive waivers for work requirements for Abled-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDS). States are only eligible to offer these waivers under two conditions — the state must both have an employment rate above 10 percent and have a demonstrable lack of “sufficient jobs”. The second requirement is only met if a state or area has an unemployment rate that is above 20 percent of the national average unemployment rate. As of January of 2019, 36 states received partial waivers for the ABAWD work requirements, and seven states have full state-wide waivers.
Looking Ahead
SNAP has recently been at the center of policy conversations due to proposed regulations by the USDA under the Trump administration to more strictly enforce work requirements (ABAWD’s) described above. The proposed rule would implement stricter requirements, including increasing unemployment rate eligibility requirements to six percent for two years, and limiting state waiver time limits to one year, instead of two years. Additionally, states would no longer be able to grant waivers to large geographic areas and would have limits placed on carry-over exemptions. The proposal is part of a broader effort to tighten work requirements on recipients of government aid. Under the new proposal, more than 750,000 people could lose access to food stamps. Thousands of comments have been submitted to the USDA; many of which oppose the changes and the ways it could hurt families and by association, teens.
Despite the estimated 65 billion dollars the federal government spent on SNAP benefits in 2018, teens still persistently experience food insecurity. The failure of SNAP to fully address teen hunger is twofold. First, households are not receiving enough benefits to support a healthy diet for teens. A recent analysis by the Urban Institute shows that SNAP does not cover the cost of meals for low-income individuals and families in 99 percent of U.S. counties.Second, eligible households are not using SNAP benefits due to barriers to access such as stigma around applying for and using SNAP, confusion about eligibility, difficulty in navigating complex paperwork, and transportation access to offices that administer benefits. Two groups that experience low participation rates are senior citizens and working families, many of whom have teens living with them in their households. Although SNAP participation rates are rising due to state-level efforts to eliminate barriers to access, in 2016, 25 percent of eligible low-income and working families were not accessing SNAP benefits.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Government’s Responsibility
The government serves as the foundation of the social safety net and has a responsibility to uphold the common good of society and promote flourishing through its policies and programs. It is unmatched in its ability to provide nutrition assistance at the scale and consistency that is needed to adequately meet the need of food-insecure individuals. Through SNAP, the government has the opportunity to provide millions of families in need of temporary assistance consistent and reliable access to food.
One of the government’s primary responsibilities is providing the necessary funding and infrastructure for SNAP. In fiscal year 2016 $71 billion — only two percent of the federal budget — was designated for SNAP. In 2018, it was estimated that SNAP funding decreased to $65 billion. The future of SNAP is even more concerning, with the Trump administration’s proposed 2020 budget threatening to cut SNAP benefits by nearly $17.4 billion. These budget cuts are detrimental to teen food security in the United States. Decreased funding not only hurts teens who are dependent on their SNAP household benefits for their daily dietary needs, but also cuts funding to important programs such as SNAP-Ed or SNAP E&T. These programs help adults and teens learn how to budget, shop for, and prepare healthy meals, as well as move towards self-sufficiency, which is the primary aim of SNAP.
These cuts undermine the health of both food-insecure teens and their families, as well as the economy as a whole. It is estimated that an increase of $1 billion in SNAP benefits boosts the Gross Domestic Product by $1.79 billion and generates 8,900-17,000 jobs. When the government invests money in SNAP, individuals and families purchase food from farmers, retailers, and food distributors, which in turn supports employees working at those institutions. Invested money directly boosts local economies, which in turn boosts the federal economy as a whole. SNAP participation also helps individual households, and the children living in them, improve their financial well-being. One study estimated it reduces the risk of falling behind on utility bills by 15 percent. Access to food stamps increased high school graduation rates by more than 18 percent, and improved educational outcomes among children ages 6 to 18. Children who receive SNAP benefits do better in school, have improved health, have a reduced risk of obesity, and are in households being lifted out of poverty.
“One of the government’s primary responsibilities is providing the necessary funding and infrastructure for SNAP.”
While maintaining adequate funding is the first step to ensuring that SNAP is meeting the needs of families, SNAP should also be strengthened to better respond to the unique needs of teenagers and their families. First, the Thrifty Food Plan should be reevaluated. This plan determines the benefit sizes for SNAP recipients and is based on the cost of a “market basket” for an average family of four. This “market basket” reflects what the USDA considers the price of food for different ages and genders based on dietary needs, consumption patterns, and the prices of food. The plan was last revisited in 2006, and new analysis shines light on its shortfall to adequately capture the food needs and realistic price levels for families and teens. The plan has not been revisited in 13 years, and should be reevaluated to address factors such as geographic variation in food costs.
Reducing the speed at which a family's benefits are reduced once they are no longer eligible for SNAP could support families whose income hovers just over the eligibility line who are no longer receiving needed government assistance. A multitude of other factors contribute to whether a family’s benefit amount is sufficient for them to eat an adequate amount of nutritious food in a month. These include time to prepare food, household cultural influences, prices of food, access to transportation, geographic location, and purchasing patterns. Oftentimes, benefits are not sufficient to support a healthy diet for families of lower-income with teens. By both re-evaluating the Thrifty Food Plan and reducing the speed at which families benefits are reduced, the gap between realistic food prices and SNAP benefits could be filled.
One major barrier for teens is a lack of awareness regarding SNAP eligibility. Vulnerable youth, particularly teens who are homeless, are often unaware of their eligibility. Youth who are homeless, including unaccompanied homeless youth, are able to apply for SNAP benefits individually. In one study conducted in eight midwestern cities, of 428 homeless teens aged 16 to 19, one-third of the teens had experienced food insecurity in the prior 30 days. Despite this, staff at SNAP offices, Health and Human Services offices, or nonprofits that administer SNAP benefits may lack training and awareness of SNAP eligibility for homeless and unaccompanied youth. The federal government, therefore, should prioritize increased educational SNAP (SNAP-ED) programs and education and training programs (SNAP E&T).
Lastly, the government should continue to expand the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, particularly Summer Food programs. The government’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs have played a central and irreplaceable role in addressing teen hunger. Twenty-two million children and teens are recipients of free or reduced-priced meals through the National School Lunch program alone. In 2016, three quarters of the five billion lunches served in school cafeterias were at free or reduced price. The Summer Food Service program also provides snacks and meals to students during the summer yet it reaches far fewer children than the school year programs. Only 1 in 6 students that participate in food assistance during the year — around 3.8 million children — participate in summer meal programs. Expanding these programs, and setting a clear goal of offering three meals, at free or reduced price, for every school district has the potential to greatly reduce teen food insecurity.
The implementation of successfully tested pilot programs that aim to reduce childhood hunger have the potential to improve participation in summer meal programs. These programs would fill the gap for teens that rely on food from school during the year, as many do. With funding from the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, one pilot program, Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children, modeled EBT cards used in SNAP programs for children, including teens, receiving summer meals. Sixteen sites across the United States from 2011 to 2014 tested the model. Evaluation of the program found that the approach was feasible and reduced the prevalence of low food security among children by one-third.
The Role of Civil Society
While the government has a clear responsibility to promote policies aimed at ending teen food insecurity, it is not a task meant only for government. Instead, the government has a responsibility to also create space for civil society institutions to provide personalized, culturally responsive, and holistic services for teens experiencing food insecurity. Nonprofit and faith-based organizations, church congregations, schools, and businesses each have unique responsibilities and contributions to make.
In order to strengthen the social safety net for teens, teens must be brought to the center of community conversations and initiatives to reduce hunger. When teens are regarded as experts, they become empowered to support their own communities and peers through addressing hunger. In Portland, Oregon, one neighborhood created a Youth Community Advisory Board in which teens distribute fresh organic food from the Oregon Food Bank to residents of New Columbia. Now in the second phase of the project, teens are training a group of volunteers in a 15-week empowerment program to join what they call the Harvest Share program. Instead of seeing families and teens experiencing food insecurity solely as burdens, society must instead view them as key players in finding solutions.
“Teens must be brought to the center of community conversations and initiatives to reduce hunger.”
Schools and nonprofits must be intentional about acknowledging the stigma that teens feel around hunger, and should work to decrease stigma through innovative programs. As discussed earlier, teens feel stigma around hunger and actively try to hide the fact that they are experiencing hunger. Schools, as primary educational institutions, have a vital role to play in addressing food insecurity. Teens spend most of their days at school, and schools that address food insecurity creatively and effectively have the potential to see their students thrive, not only academically, but socially as well. Schools can decrease stigma by implementing programs such as in-school pantries, by integrating meals and/or food assistance into already existing after-school programs, and by strengthening collaborations with other institutions, such as food banks and farms, within their communities.
Congregations and faith-based organizations, which can be referred to as the sacred sector, are uniquely situated to increase strategic collaborations in communities. Bread for the World, a Christian organization, recognizes this potential and partners with congregations and denominational networks to activate faith communities to be engaged in the issue of hunger. With their support, Christians across the country become informed about the issues and connect with members of Congress to help build the “political will to end hunger.” In Baltimore, Maryland, the Black Church Food Security Network leverages their faith-based networks to address food insecurity, particularly among minority groups, by connecting “black farmers with black churches to help combat the issues of food insecurity”.
For-profit businesses can work towards the triple bottom line: profiting beyond their own pockets to serve the greater social needs within their communities. For example, the Double Up program allow SNAP recipients to use EBT cards to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at stores or farmers markets. SNAP recipients earn one dollar of Double Up Food bucks for every dollar spent on fresh produce, which can then be used to buy more produce at the same retailer in the future. The program encourages participants to buy nutritious food, supports local farmers, and helps SNAP dollars stay within the local economy. The program now has more than 760 sites in more than 20 states across the nation, and through its strategic partnerships has helped more than 300,000 low-income families access fresh fruits and vegetables. In Central Florida, businesses such as Capital Grille and the Olive Garden donate surplus food to Second Harvest Food Bank, a program that delivers 6,500 meals a day to 118 sites where children can receive hot meals during the summers. Programs like the Second Harvest, in which surplus food is donated to community-based organizations, have immense potential to benefit both businesses and individuals and families who face food insecurity.
Teen food insecurity, although a large and complex issue, can be eliminated if individuals and institutions in society choose to respond with innovation and consistency. Our faith calls us to feed the hungry and care for the vulnerable, and in doing so our neighborhoods will be transformed. When teens are fed, they flourish as our future leaders — in schools, on college campuses, in workplaces, in religious institutions, and in families.
Read the rest of “The Hidden Epidemic of Teen Food Insecurity, which includes a case study of Waco, Texas.
Ana O’Quin is a senior social work major with a poverty and social justice minor at Baylor University. She completed her research for The Hatfield Prize during her junior year. O’Quin loves being invested in the Waco community through mentoring in Young Life, volunteering with an anti-trafficking organization, and working at a local coffee shop. She grew up overseas in Indonesia and loves to jump on a plane and travel at every chance that she gets.
ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Inspired by what you’ve read? Consider starting a Political Discipleship group to address food insecurity in your community. The Center for Public Justice’s Political Discipleship is a praxis-based curriculum designed to equip small groups to practice civic engagement and empower them with skills and tools to shape policy and address inequality and injustice in their communities. To learn more about starting a group, visit our website or contact katie.thompson@cpjustice.org.
The Hatfield Prize is made possible through the generosity of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. We thank them for their support, but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in these reports are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of these foundations.