Teens and Food Insecurity
The Urban Institute has worked in communities across the country to understand how food insecurity affects youth. From a statewide study in Vermont to pilot teen leadership programs in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Urban’s work in this area has continued to grow.
The latest efforts emerged from Urban’s Housing Opportunities and Services Together (HOST) demonstration, which explored using housing as a platform for providing intensive, whole-family services to stabilize vulnerable families. Urban’s HOST team first identified teen food insecurity as an issue in its Washington, DC, HOST community. Through a partnership with Feeding America, the team conducted focus groups with teens, first in the three HOST demonstration communities and later in seven diverse low-income communities across the US, to gain insight into how food insecurity affected their well-being.
That exploratory research highlighted the special challenges teens faced, including the stigma of being food insecure, the weight of adult worries and responsibilities, and the pressure to engage in risky behavior. More research on teens and food insecurity followed, as did the development of a teen leadership program around food.
Feature
Publications
- Chicago Teen Food Literacy Curriculum
- Chicago Teen Food Literacy Program Implementation Plan
- Impossible Choices
- Evidence-Based Strategies to End Childhood Food Insecurity and Hunger in Vermont
- Exploring Teen Food Insecurity in Portland, Oregon
- Teen Food Literacy Curriculum
- Impossible Choices: Teens and Food Insecurity in America
Urban Wire Posts
- A Leadership Program Is Helping Chicago Teens Bring Food to Their Community
- What Vermont Taught Us About Fighting Food Insecurity