A front page story in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Alfred Lubrano features the insights of Witnesses to Hunger Shontaya M., Tianna G. and Nadja B. regarding the effect of the rising cost of food and how it impacts young children.
The article cites new research showing that not having enough food in the household impacts children emotionally much more than was previously thought. Children are also aware when their parents go without food so that they can eat, as 5-year old Kodi-Cheree Moses tells us: I get yummy French toast, but when Mommy doesn't eat, I say, 'Please eat right now, Mommy.' "
And, as Nadja Brickle describes, despite parents' best efforts to shield their struggles from their children, sometimes there just isn't enough: "You see the expression on their faces in the grocery store when they want food and you have to say no," Brickle said. "When I cook, I often don't eat so my kids can."
"Most people don't know what it feels like to have your stomach completely empty and to make and smell food you won't be eating. And then, they're not satisfied 'cause it's not enough food for them. And you're still hungry."