This study examined whether food insecurity was different for children in cohabiting or repartnered families compared to those in single mother or married (biological) parent families. We compared probabilities of child food insecurity across different family structures in four national datasets the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort ECLS-B); the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFWCS); the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K); and, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS). The likelihood of child food insecurity in cohabiting or repartnered families were generally higher than in married biological parent families and often statistically indistinguishable from single mother families. Children whose biological parents are cohabiting or whose biological mothers have repartnered have comparable risk for food insecurity to those in single mother households. However, family structure is not related to child food insecurity above and beyond the influence of other factors such as household income, family size, and maternal race, ethnicity, education, and age.
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