Have you ever heard someone say, “brain food?” In fact, these two words hold much truth as the developing human brain and body requires all essential nutrients to develop appropriately and function efficiently. Infant and toddler development depends on adequate nutrition. Children need fruits and vegetables to access important nutrients for growth and immune support. Unfortunately, a report shows that 1 in 2 children under 5 years old did not eat a daily vegetable and 1 in 3 children did not eat a daily fruit (Hamner et al., 2023).

Poverty is a social problem that impacts millions of people. It can be extremely difficult to provide the sufficient nutrition required as a parent when you live in poverty or do not have access to healthy foods. According to the U.S Census Bureau, over 10.5 million children live below the federal poverty line in the United States, which is 1 in 5 children (U.S Census Bureau, 2020). This means that a high number of children are growing up without access to the most basic necessities such as food, shelter, and healthcare among many others. Research shows that children who are not given sufficient nutrition have an increased risk of developing impaired cognitive skills (Roberts et al., 2022).

Children experience poverty at high rates (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). These rates are further compounded by race and structural racism. Children of color, especially those from BIPOC communities, are overrepresented in poverty statistics. This means that they experience higher rates of poverty than their white peers, even though they make up less of the overall U.S. population. For example, “35.5% of Black people living in poverty in the U.S. are below the age of 18. In addition, 40.7% of Hispanic people living below the poverty line in the U.S. are younger than age 18, and 29.1% of American Indian and Native American children lived in poverty in 2018. In contrast, approximately 21% of White people living in poverty in the U.S. are less than 18 years old” (APA, 2022).