The 13.1 million children live in 6.4 million food insecure households. In 265,000 of those households, one or more children went hungry last year. In another 1.2 million homes, a parent or other adult went hungry. And 4.9 million households with children were "food insecure without hunger." That means they teetered on the edge of hunger, occasionally being forced to skip meals or cut back on buying healthy food.

"In many homes struggling to put food on the table, children are fed first," said Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman. "While that sacrifice may spare the child from hunger, the whole family suffers from the strain and insecurity of not knowing where the next meal is coming from."

Compared with childless households, households with children suffer double the chances of food insecurity (16.5 percent compared with 8.1 percent), according to the USDA.

Families at risk of hunger have few options. Charitable help is stretched thin by rising demand, while government food assistance rarely lasts through the month. The average food stamp allotment is about 90 cents per person per meal, which is not enough to purchase healthy and balanced meals.

"Thanksgiving is a time when many Americans reach out to help families in need," said Edelman. "As a nation we have much to be thankful for, but many families are suffering this holiday from joblessness and poverty, and more than 13 million children are at risk of hunger. We are not a selfish people, yet the nation's policy priorities this past year should give us pause. Decisions made by our leaders in Washington to enact lavish tax cuts of $93,500 per millionaire, while budget-strapped states slash funding for schools, child care, and emergency cash assistance, counteract the generous giving of individual Americans."