A new report says New Mexico is again No. 1 in America for childhood hunger, affecting almost one in three kids in the state. /Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Agriculture.
By Rick Nathanson | Albuquerque Journal
According to the just-released Map the Meal Gap 2019 report from Feeding America, 24.1% of kids age 18 and younger in New Mexico – that’s one of every four children – are at risk of childhood hunger and food insecurity.
The 2018 Map the Meal Gap also had New Mexico as dead last, and the 2017 report had the state ranked 49th.
This year’s 49th place holder is Arkansas with 23.6% of at-risk food insecure kids, then Louisiana at 23% and Mississippi at 22.9%.
In contrast, the states with the fewest percentage of kids who are at risk of food insecurity are North Dakota, ranked first with 9.8% of kids, followed by Massachusetts at 11.7%, New Hampshire with 12.3% and Minnesota with 12.6%.
