By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - Many statisticians and analysts say a recent projection that almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood seems about right.

Where they differ is in interpreting what it all means.

Most would agree that people on food stamps aren't necessarily starving. It's also clear that people who need food stamps the most often don't get them. But whether receiving food stamps means people are truly impoverished provokes more debate.

The estimate on children is from an analysis published earlier this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

A USDA hunger report last week raised similar concerns, finding that more than one in seven American households lacked "food security" in 2008.

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