Hunger ravages 1st District, study finds

Nearly half of all families with children in the 1st Congressional District are unable to afford enough food, according to a new report released Thursday.

The report, released by the Food Research and Action Center, analyzes hunger among families with children and families without children based on data from a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The study asked families “were there times over the past year when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

Nationally in 2010, the report shows 14.9 percent of families without children had a food hardship, compared with 23.4 percent for families with children. Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District, which includes South Philadelphia, parts of Center City and North Philadelphia, the city of Chester and other parts of Delaware County, had the second-highest rate of food hardship among families with children at 49.6 percent.

“Hunger doesn’t discriminate, and its impacts are devastating for children, making it impossible for them to learn in school and reach their full potential,” Carey Morgan, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, said in a statement.

Overall, Pennsylvania ranked 37th in terms of states with the highest food hardship. Washington, D.C., topped the list, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Arkansas.