Bigger child tax credit may make quick dent in child hunger

U.S. Census Bureau chart; click on the image to enlarge it.

"The percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically after the first child tax credit payments were distributed last month, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau," Helena Bottemiller Evich reports for Politico. "The government’s finding shows that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households. . . . Before the first tranche of tax-credit payments hit bank accounts in mid-July, about 11 percent of households with children reported that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat in the past week. After the money went out, the rate dropped to just over 8% — a decrease of nearly 24% — and the lowest rate recorded since the beginning of the pandemic."

Though researchers warn it's too early to fully understand the drop in hunger rates, it appears closely correlated to the tax-credit payments. "Households with children saw a major decline, while adults in households with no children saw virtually no change over the same period, with about 6 percent reporting a lack of food sometimes or often," Evich reports. "Other factors that are very likely contributing to the decline: An improving economy and also special pandemic food aid payments that kids have received in recent months to help make up for meals missed at school last year."

A study by the Niskanen Center found that the higher tax credit helps rural communities most.