A New Toolkit To Help Pediatriticans Diagnose Hunger

Food insecurity is detrimental to children’s health and well-being. Children living in food-insecure households are more likely to get sick and be hospitalized than their peers and suffer developmental delays, behavioral problems, and obesity.

Pediatricians and other practitioners working with children play a vital role in protecting children and their families from food insecurity and its harmful consequences. To help, The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Research & Action Center have jointly released a new resource: Addressing Food Insecurity. The toolkit provides specific information on how to screen patients for food insecurity; make the appropriate interventions, most commonly by referring patients and their families to the federal nutrition programs; and advocate for greater food security and improved overall health of children and their families.