Information from: The Hunger Site...

Hunger in the United States
In 1999, a year marked by good economic news, 31 million Americans were food insecure, meaning they were either hungry or unsure of where their next meal would come from. 12 million of these Americans were children. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1999
In the same year, some 5 million adults and 2.7 million children lived in households where someone in the household had experienced hunger in the previous year due to a lack of resources. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1999
Seniors make up 16.5% of all emergency food pantry clients, 17% of all soup kitchen clients, 4% of all emergency shelters clients and 17.5% of the clients served by other non-congregate feeding programs such as Meals on Wheels. Seniors, however, only account for 13% of the U.S. population.
According to research conducted by the Urban Institute, 1.9 million seniors must choose between buying food and buying needed medicine.
Approximately 28% of all emergency food clients have missed meals in the past month. Additional research has estimated that 1.1 million seniors have skipped meals because there is no food in the house.
In 1999, approximately 12 million American children were food insecure, meaning they were hungry or at risk of hunger. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1999
Of the more than 21 million emergency food recipients served by America's Second Harvest network, more than 8 million are children (38%). Second Harvest's Hunger 1997: Faces & Facts
46% of food recipient households with children include at least one child under age 5. Hunger 1997: Faces & Facts
9% of food recipient households report that children have missed meals in the past month because they lacked food or the means to obtain food. Second Harvest's Hunger 1997: Faces & Facts
Recent research indicates that even mild under nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth may lead to reductions in physical growth and affect brain development. "The Links Between Nutrition and Cognitive Development of Children," 1998, Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Requests for emergency food assistance have risen by 18% in American cities - with more than half of the requests coming from families with children. U.S. Conference of Mayors, December 1999
8,659,000 children in the U.S. live in working poor families. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1999