Introduction

Research Question:
Are U.S. children suffering from food insecurity, malnutrition, and starvation, and what are the long-term implications?

## Rows: 48
## Columns: 3
## $ state                    <chr> "Arkansas", "Arizona", "California", "Colorad…
## $ `Food insecurity`        <dbl> 18.9, 11.8, 11.4, 9.9, 10.4, 11.3, 12.0, 12.8…
## $ `Very low food security` <chr> "6.7", "4.7", "4.1", "3.4", "4.4", "4", "4.4"…
## Rows: 71
## Columns: 2
## $ state                   <chr> "Alabama", "Alaska", "Arizona", "Arkansas", "C…
## $ graduation_rate_2021_22 <dbl> 89.3, 78.2, 78.0, 88.0, 82.7, 79.1, 87.9, 86.9…
## Rows: 48
## Columns: 4
## $ state                    <chr> "Arkansas", "Arizona", "California", "Colorad…
## $ `Food insecurity`        <dbl> 18.9, 11.8, 11.4, 9.9, 10.4, 11.3, 12.0, 12.8…
## $ `Very low food security` <chr> "6.7", "4.7", "4.1", "3.4", "4.4", "4", "4.4"…
## $ graduation_rate_2021_22  <dbl> 88.0, 78.0, 82.7, 79.1, 87.9, 86.9, 82.3, 80.…

Choropleth-style Bar Chart with National Context

Final Visualization

Conclusion:

The combined insights from the three visualizations tell a consistent and urgent story: child food insecurity is not evenly distributed across the U.S., and its impact goes far beyond hunger. The choropleth highlights geographic disparities, with Southern and Western states showing some of the highest child food insecurity rates. The bar plot underscores how this issue exists within a broader national context of malnutrition, while the scatter plot reveals a critical link — states with the highest child food insecurity often also report lower high school graduation rates. These dual burdens threaten long-term educational and economic outcomes. With over 3% of U.S. children already suffering from malnutrition, the stakes are high. Addressing food insecurity is both a moral imperative and a strategic investment in America’s future — one that calls for targeted interventions in the most vulnerable regions to break the cycle of poverty and promote lasting opportunity.

References

  1. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (n.d.). Food security in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics

  2. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2023). Digest of Education Statistics 2023. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp

  3. World Health Organization (WHO). (n.d.). Malnutrition database. Retrieved from https://platform.who.int/nutrition/malnutrition-database/database-search