Our mission:

The Childhood Hunger Coalition (CHC) is a network of health care professionals, anti-hunger advocates and other interested Oregonians working together to educate the medical community, policy makers, and the general public about the medical, developmental and psycho-social impacts of childhood food insecurity and hunger. We believe childhood hunger must be understood as a public health issue, not simply a social issue.

Mission: To eliminate public health problems arising from childhood hunger through prevention, identification of families at risk and intervention.

Definitions:

Food security: The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods for an active, healthy life.

Food insecurity (low food security): occurs whenever the availability of nutritionally adequate food or the ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain due to insufficient money and other resources.

Hunger (very low food security): a situation where household members unwillingly go without food for an intermittent or extended period of time. (USDA Economic Research Service)

Hunger and Health Video https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/resource/illuminating-intersections-hunger-and-health-video/

Get involved

Take action and learn more about the health consequences of childhood hunger.

• Get the screening and intervention tools (available in multiple languages) and implementation assistance. Contact Lynn Knox, Statewide Health Care Liaison lknox@oregonfoodbank.org, 503-853-8732.
• Take the course, Childhood Food Insecurity: Health Impacts, Screening and Intervention.
• AAP policy statement: Promoting Food Security for All Children http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/136/5/e1431.full.pdf
• Use the free toolkit on addressing food insecurity by the American Academy of Pediatricians: http://frac.org/aaptoolkit 
• The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) policy statement: https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/policy-povertyhealth.html
• Childrens Healthwatch: http://childrenshealthwatch.org/
• Identifying Food Insecurity in Health Care Settings: A Review of the Evidence January 2017 Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN): SIREN Food Insecruity Brief
• Research article validating use of two item Hunger Vital Sign screening questions: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/1/e26.full
• Use the algorithm of the Nutrition & Obesity Network (NOPREN) for pediatrics: https://nopren.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PEDIATRICS.pdf 
  

Continuing Education Now Available

Course participants will:

• Improve knowledge about health consequences of pediatric and pre-natal food insecurity and hunger and be able to discuss at least two health consequences.
• Use a validated food-insecurity risk question as part of intake protocol in a clinical setting.
• Integrate intervention strategies (such as food assistance outreach and education) for patients and families at risk for food insecurity.
Take the course