• Home > United States > Summer meals take the edge off persistent child hunger in Maine

Summer meals take the edge off persistent child hunger in Maine

by Gillian Graham

Children in the Buxton summer recreational program eat lunch at Buxton Center Elementary School cafeteria last month. About one in five kids in Maine struggle with food insecurity, more than in any other New England state and more than the average across the United States. [Gregory Rec/Press Herald]

While the rate of childhood food insecurity – an official measure of hunger – has declined both in the state and nationwide, Maine still has a rate higher than the national average. In 2016, 19.8 percent of Maine children lived with food insecurity. The childhood food insecurity rate for the United States is 17.5 percent.