Claire Babineaux-Fontenot grew up with an extraordinary 107 siblings (foster, adoptive and biological). That taught her a lot about the long-term impacts of food shortages on children.

Her parents were included in America’s Adoption Hall of Fame for raising so many children, although usually only 16 were at home at any one time, says Ms Babineaux-Fontenot, chief executive of Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger relief organisation in the US.

“I have so many siblings who struggle to this day, and their struggles started out with lack of access to food,” she says. “They fuel me in my work”. The coronavirus pandemic has vastly expanded that work, as the number of Americans in need has shot up. Despite living in a country that produces enough food to feed everyone, many Americans have found themselves hungry for the first time in their lives, she says.