Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood

Source: Mark R. Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Vol. 163 no. 11, November 2009
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From the abstract:
Between the ages of 1 to 20 years, nearly half (49.2%) of all American children will, at some point, reside in a household that receives food stamps. Households in need of the program use it for relatively short periods but are also likely to return to the program at several points during the childhood years. Race, parental education, and head of household's marital status exert a strong influence on the proportion of children residing in a food stamp household.

American children are at a high risk of encountering a spell during which their families are in poverty and food insecure as indicated through their use of food stamps. Such events have the potential to seriously jeopardize a child's overall health.