Grandfamilies Face Food Insecurity as Holidays Approach

With Thanksgiving approaching, it is well to remember that there are some caregivers of children who will not be sharing in the abundance of the holiday season. As Michele Stueven writes, a new report released by the non-profit Generations United points out that “the 2.5 million children in the United States growing up in ‘grandfamilies’ face higher rates of hunger and food insecurity. Grandfamilies are families in which children are being raised by relatives—grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or close friends—without their parents in the home.”

Stueven adds that the White House has recently proposed “a sweeping national strategy to reduce hunger. The plan identifies steps to better support grandfamilies like providing healthy school meals for all children, which will immediately provide nutritious food to children being raised in grandfamilies. Additionally, the White House’s call for improved outreach to maximize enrollment to grandfamilies who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is an important change.”

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