Southern states top list of worst states for kids during the pandemic -- Save the Children report

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Wed, 2021-03-03 12:51 — mike kraft

Southern states top list of worst states for kids during the pandemic, Save the Children finds Save the Children looks at the growing number of kids facing hunger and other hardships one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Audrey McNamara CBSNews

A new report from Save the Children found that Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and New Mexico ranked as the worst states for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Louisiana and Mississippi consistently placed in the bottom 10 of states for the last five months of 2020.

Save the Children ranked states based on data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau's bi-weekly Household Pulse Survey. The resulting report, "Childhood in the Time of COVID," analyzed the social and economic effects of COVID-19, including how racial and income inequality impact families differently within each state. The report focuses on "three hardships that are making it more difficult for children to reach their full potential: hunger, lack of tools for remote learning and trouble making ends meet."

Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah and Washington consistently ranked among the 10 best states for families — defined as households with children under age 18.

Food insecurity underpins the entire report, according to Save the Children's Vice President of U.S. Programs & Advocacy, Betsy Zorio. Six million more children are experiencing hunger because of the pandemic, meaning there are now about 17 million children facing hunger in the United States.

"Six million more children are hungry now, but when you think about that, that means 11 million children in America were hungry prior to the pandemic, and that's really unacceptable for a country that's as wealthy as ours," Zorio told CBSN.

"If kids are hungry they can't learn," she said.

Tens of millions of American children rely on their school to provide "breakfast, lunch and sometimes even dinner," Zorio explained. School closures and distance learning have put nearly all of them in a precarious situation. ...

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