Talking to Kids About Food Insecurity

Parents and caregivers want their kids to be happy and healthy, but we also want to help them navigate society as kind, compassionate people who care about others. This means we occasionally need to have conversations with kids about serious topics. One issue many families face, and kids may have questions about, is food insecurity. Even here in the Tri-Valley. 

Nearly 50 million Americans, including 1 in 5 children, face food insecurity. This means that friends of your kids skip meals, don’t have enough to eat at home, or don’t know where their next meal is coming from. In summer, when school is out, millions of kids lose access to free or reduced lunch daily. While not every child faces this struggle, kids are never too young to learn about empathy and helping other people. 

Having conversations with your kids about tough topics like hunger and its causes are important steps to building awareness and driving social change. But how do we talk to kids about food insecurity?

Talk To Kids About Food Insecurity with Simple, Honest Language

Parents and caregivers are very aware of the fact that children understand more than we expect. Kids are smart. Use language they relate to: simple, honest, and direct. If a child asks about food insecurity or hunger, you can tell them something like: 

“There are some families that don’t always have enough food. This means that they eat less or sometimes don’t get to have the healthy food they need. When people don’t have enough food, that can make it harder to do well in school or have the energy to play.”

A healthy way to speak about hunger is to avoid shame or fear. Focus on empathy; stress the fact that every family deserves to have enough food. 

Be Ready for Kid Questions About Food Insecurity

Another thing parents and caregivers are very aware of is that kids can ask questions you don’t expect. It helps to be ready with questions they might have about food hunger. Be prepared to field questions like:

• Why don’t some kids have enough food?

• Can’t they get more food at the store?

• Do we have enough food?

• What do we do if we don’t have enough food?

• How do I help?

Kids are curious. They will ask questions. Be ready!

Reasons Some Families Experience Food Insecurity

One of the questions you’re likely to hear from kids is: Why do some families experience food insecurity? This is a tough question because there are so many answers. Here are some of the most common causes of hunger insecurity:

• A parent loses their job and can’t earn enough grocery money.

• Money that parents do make has to go to many other items like rent, gas, or medical bills, leaving less money for food.

• Some families live in places where grocery stores with healthy foods aren’t close to them.

• People didn’t do anything wrong; life can be really hard sometimes for some people. 

Kids ask questions because they care. It’s important to care, ask questions, and help when you can. Questions can lead to a powerful conversation about how everyone deserves enough food to grow, be healthy, and feel their best every day. 

A Way for Kids to Help Fight Food Insecurity 

A great way for kids to participate in fighting food insecurity is to take action! A great way to do that is to start a food drive with Open Heart Kitchen. 

Food drives can be a family project, a classroom effort, or even a schoolwide campaign.

Starting a food drive rallies friends, family, and community to support Open Heart Kitchen’s mission of providing free meals, groceries, and overnight shelter to those in need in the Tri-Valley. 

Support the Work of Open Heart Kitchen

There is a lot of work to be done to address and eliminate the root causes of food insecurity. While that work is being done, we must simultaneously create pathways for local communities to rally to support families who are facing food insecurity. Community organizations like Open Heart Kitchen can do this at scale to help temporarily fill the gap. People in the Tri-Valley facing hunger can always find help at Open Heart Kitchen. But we can’t do it without the Tri-Valley community. Please consider donating to Open Heart Kitchen.

Together, we can fight hunger and build a future where everyone has access to nutritious food and a sense of hope. Contact us now to learn more about how you can get involved and make a lasting difference. 

Here are some additional reading sources for kids about hunger and food insecurity:

Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt

One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice 

Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by DyAnne DiSalvo

Hungry: A Graphic Novel, Fighting Childhood Food Insecurity by Julie Olson

All Are Neighbors by Alexandra Penfold

Lulu and the Hunger Monster by Erik Talkin