Tonya Pavlenko is a Research Analyst at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. She has contributed to the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, Poverty Tracker, and is currently working on a randomized controlled trial of a poverty intervention program called Room to Grow, which supports mothers and babies in the first three years of life.
Even with help from food stamps and a federal nutrition program, nearly half of U.S. households receiving such benefits struggle to feed their families.