micdotcom:

Hungry teens are taking alarming measures to eat

According to a new report from Washington, D.C.-based think-tank the Urban Institute and nonprofit Feeding America, teens from food-insecure families are risking everything to eat. In every community where the study’s focus groups met, teens described going “outside of the legal economy” in order to get the food they need:

• Shoplifting food
• Stealing items to resell for a profit
• Purposefully failing school to maintain access to free food programs
• many teens skip meals so they’re able to provide for their younger siblings.
• And in 13 out of 20 of the study’s focus groups, teen participants mentioned trading sex for money or meals.

And no they can’t “just get jobs” — they’re caught in the same employment paradox as many young people.