Half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Although one in five children rely on food stamps for years, many more live in families who turn to food stamps during a short-term crisis, says author Mark Rank of Washington University in St. Louis. He analyzed 30 years of data from the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics survey.
"This is what children can expect over a period of time, not just during a recession," Rank says. "It shows that the period of childhood, rather than a period of safety and security, is really a time, for a lot of kids, of economic turmoil and risk."
Rank says his study, the first of its kind, may underestimate how many families struggle with grocery bills. Only about 67% of people who are eligible for food stamps actually receive them, the Department of Agriculture says.
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