“It was a realistic pledge, but it’s no longer realistic now,” said Mariana Chilton, a professor at Drexel University’s School of Public Health and a national expert on childhood hunger. “If the president had set up a national plan when he was first elected, it might have worked. But now, I don’t see things getting any better.”

In Philadelphia, nearly 22 percent of children are described as being food insecure – lacking access to adequate food because of a dearth of money, according to figures from Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.

The suburban counties recorded a range of 14 percent to 15 percent child food insecurity. In South Jersey, child food insecurity in the congressional districts including Gloucester and Camden Counties rivals Philadelphia’s level, Feeding America research shows.

“And these numbers are conservative,” said Chilton. “I wish I could sound more positive, but the desperation is so deep.”