To put it another way, one in four children in the country is living without consistent access to enough nutritious food to live a healthy life, the study released by Feeding America — a network of 200 food banks and the largest hunger charity in the US — has unveiled.

“The consequences and costs of child hunger make addressing this issue an economic and societal imperative, in addition to an obvious moral obligation,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.

“As we deal with all the financial issues facing our nation, we can’t balance our budget on the backs of poor and hungry children,” Escarra added.

Nineteen counties in the US are home to more than 100,000 children living in food-insecure households. And three of those counties have more than 300,000 food-insecure children, according to the study, “Map the Meal Child Food Insecurity 2011.”

Shockingly 49 percent of all babies born in the US are born in families receiving food aid from Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program.

WIC is a program that provides tailored food supplements to pregnant women and families with children under age 5 whose household income is less than 185 percent of the gross federal poverty limit.

US proposed House budget for 2012 includes substantial cuts to food aid programs in the 2012 budget cycle.

Experts believe that the cuts will be disastrous for many families, if passed by the house.

PG/MTM/MGH