BOSTON -- Skyrocketing heating costs could leave many local families with a heartbreaking decision -- heat or food?

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that it is an increasingly common problem facing Massachusetts's most needy families.

"She's a happy child, but stuff is hard," Ketline Leonard, a single mother of two, said of her 2-year-old daughter who has sickle cell anemia.

Leonard said her daughter has pain when she gets cold.

"I live in an apartment that's $1,400 (a month)," Leonard said.

Which, Leonard said, doesn't leave much money to pay for heat.

"It's an outrage," said Joe Kennedy, whose Citizens Energy Commission has provided heating assistance to low-income families for decades.

On Monday, Kennedy blasted the Bush administration for a 44 percent cut in the federal fuel assistance program.

"The federal government makes money, and yet, they say when it comes to helping families, 'I'm sorry, there's no money in the till,'" Kennedy said.

Monday morning's gathering was aimed at focusing attention on a new study that said skyrocketing fuel costs contribute to malnutrition in young children because their parents must choose between food and heat. The study also revealed a link between learning and heating costs.

"We have data that's beginning to suggest that families who have real problems with energy, their children also slow down in their learning," said Dr. Deborah Frank, of Boston Medical Center.

With her husband serving in Iraq, Rachel Jordan said she worries about affording food and heat this winter. She said her 3-month-old son, John, is sensitive to the cold because he has trouble keeping on weight.

"I feel like we shouldn't have to face this because (my husband's) a hero," Rachel Jordan said.

The medical community has prepared a letter signed by some members of Congress asking the Bush administration to restore the 44 percent cut in federal fuel assistance.