Authorizing the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings regarding ending child hunger in the City of Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, According to Children's HealthWatch, 20 percent of the households in the City of Philadelphia are considered food insecure; and

WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Agriculture, child food insecurity is defined as the state in which people do not have access to enough food in order to live an active and healthy lifestyle or do not know where the majority of their meals will come from; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity is especially harmful amongst children because of the risk of increased vulnerability and the potential for harmful consequences in their futures; and

WHEREAS, Several studies have supported the conclusion that food insecurity amongst children has an impact on cognitive development, school performance, and can cause an increase in illness and associated health costs; and

WHEREAS, According to Feeding America, a nonprofit, nationwide network of food banks, inadequate nutrition caused by food insecurity in children has the possibility of permanently altering the architecture of a child's brain and stunting their intellectual capacity which can affect their learning, social interactions, and productivity. Moreover, when children are victims of food insecurity, they lose the potential for cognitive growth that they may never regain; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity can lead to the frequent hospitalization and a poor physical quality of life for children; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity amongst children is linked to childhood obesity because families have to purchase cheaper foods that are high in calories and that may have little nutritional value; and

WHEREAS, Food insecure households experience substantial hardship because they have to struggle to pay for food, health related expenses and other basic expenses such as utilities; and

WHEREAS, According to the Center for Hunger Free Communities, without the assistance of programs that seek to eliminate child hunger, parents are approximately 101 percent more likely to sacrifice seeking medical care, prescriptions and oral health care for their children because they were unable to pay for such services and their children were 186 percent more likely to have poor oral health; and

WHEREAS, According to Feeding America, food insecure children may suffer from not being able to fully engage in day to day activities such as school activities and social interactions with their peers; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity increases a child's risk of truancy and habitual tardiness. In addition, for food insecure children who do attend school, they may suffer from behavioral problems such as fighting, hyperactivity, aggression, anxiety, mood swings, and bullying; and

WHEREAS, According to a report by the Food Research and Action Center, Pennsylvania schools are lagging in the amount of students who eat breakfast with only 45 percent of low-income and food insecure children in Pennsylvania eating breakfast in school; and

WHEREAS, According to Feeding America, pregnant women who suffer from food insecurity have a higher risk of experiencing birth complications and giving birth to underweight babies; and

WHEREAS, Food insecurity amongst pregnant women has been linked with difficulties in development, attachment and learning within the first two years of the baby's life; and

WHEREAS, According to No Kid Hungry, a campaign dedicated to ending child hunger, an increase in awareness in programs such as summer meals, school breakfast and after school programs may help alleviate child hunger insecurity amongst many children in the City of Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings regarding ending child hunger in the City of Philadelphia.

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