2007 Hunger Statistics Among Children in Orange County

• Over 11,000 children are identified as homeless by the Orange County Department of Education.

• 42% of sheltered homeless children under the age of five are not reported in these statistics.

• In Orange County, at least 39% of the public school-aged children live in homes with incomes below the 185% federal poverty level.

In 2006, Orange County had the 3rd largest amount of millionaires in the United States, containing 10% of California’s millionaire households.

Why is This Important?

Food insufficiency is correlated with lower math scores, higher likelihood of having to repeat a grade. Along with hunger, the malnutrition that is increasingly witnessed among homeless families is obesity. Part of this may be attributable to the unavailability of nutritious food.

For homeless children, a free lunch provided at school is the only meal they can rely on. Children living in poverty are at greater risk for poor health, lower educational achievement, increased criminal activity, use of alcohol or other drugs, and are more likely to grow up in unsafe communities.

The American Institute of Nutrition provides evidence showing a relationship between a family’s food security and assurance of healthy life. Households with food insecurity are more likely to experience reduced diet quality, anxiety about their food supply, increased use of emergency food sources or other coping behaviors, and sometimes, hunger. In 2000, over half a million U.S. children lived in household with child hunger. For children with families living below poverty, food insecurity and hunger become more and more prevalent. (America’s Children: Key National Indicators or Well-Being, 2002)

How You Can Help

Giving Children Hope is dedicated to alleviate poverty and eliminate hunger in the community, so as an collabortive effort with First Congregational Church in Buena Park, we are holding our very first walk-a-thon, Walking with Hope in benefit of the We’ve Got Your Back Nutrition Program for homeless children.

Walk with us to help lower these statistics and help feed the homeless children of Orange County.

This is YOUR community and YOUR organization! Join us and make a difference!

• **This information came from the Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2007, unless otherwise noted.