More Kids Living in Poverty Now Than in 2008

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March 7, 2016 — A hard truth about American poverty: Kids are at greater risk than the population at large. A harder truth: Their situation has gotten worse since the beginning of the Recession.

New data from the National Center for Children in Poverty shows that 21% of American kids were living in poverty in 2014, up from 18% in 2008. They also find that black and Hispanic children are still much more likely to live in poverty than their white counterparts and that having college-educated parents is no guarantee of financial security.

Take a look at the NCCP’s full report. If you want to dig deeper, use Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap tool to find out how many kids struggle with hunger in your county.