This report presents evidence that spikes in regional and household characteristics played a significant role in the observed 2008 increase in child with very low food security and low food security. Perhaps not surprisingly, unemployment of the household head is found to substantially increase the probability of very low food security and low food insecurity among children. Further, simulations of changes in regional economic conditions indicate rising unemployment rates during the Great Recession explain a significant portion of observed increases in child food insecurity. The findings suggest that there is a need to examine unemployment insurance and job creation policies during severe labor market shocks in order to better protect the food security of families with children. The study also finds that the factors which place children at risk of very low food security are in some cases different than those that place children at risk of low food security.
