Rural Child Hunger in the U.S.

Children in rural communities across the United States are struggling from inconsistent access to enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle. One hungry child is one too many. Save the Children is working to make sure all children in rural communities have the nourishing food they need for a healthy, strong foundation to thrive as learners and in life.

Our Strategy to Combat U.S. Rural Child Hunger:

• Meet Immediate Needs and Increase Access to Nourishing Food. In collaboration with schools and community-based organizations, we support the preparation and delivery of millions of meals in rural communities across the United States so that children’s bellies are full and minds are ready to learn. We support feeding programs and meal distribution efforts through local and national partnerships, grant funding and local staff.

• Strengthen Federal Nutrition Programs. Government nutrition programs are integral to fight child hunger, yet don’t reach all eligible families in rural areas. That’s why, together with our political advocacy arm Save the Children Action Network, we advocate for strengthening government programs to meet the need in rural communities.

• Develop New Solutions to Combat Rural Child Hunger. Unfortunately, there are no clear proven best practices for addressing child hunger in rural areas. To address this need, Save the Children is designing a Rural Child Hunger Research and Innovation Lab. The goal of the Lab is to identify, develop and implement new, scalable solutions to rural child hunger that will have the potential to reach millions of children across rural America.

The Rural Child Hunger Summit 2023

The 5th Rural Child Hunger Summit - Reimagining Rural: Building Resiliency Through Partnerships and Innovation - took place October 17-18. Topics discussed that address rural child hunger, included:

• The impact of youth voices influencing programs and systems
• How community partnerships supersede meeting immediate food needs
• Spotlighting policy change advocates, and
• The role schools play in improving food security for children and families

This event was presented by Save the Children and No Kid Hungry.

Session recordings will be made available.