And kids who needed them didn’t have to worry about stigma because they were available to everyone.
#Thumbs up kid free#
While they lasted, the universal free meals addressed several concerns about student hunger. timeframe,” said Jessica Padilla, a sixth-grade math and science teacher. “We realized that a lot of our students were going straight to the playground and not going into the cafeteria to eat before school, from the 7 a.m. Carts filled with prepackaged breakfast meals are rolled outside by the entrance to the school, instead of being kept in the cafeteria. To reach students who might be embarrassed about not having eaten at home, the school recently changed how it distributes free breakfast. The Roosevelt School District, where 80% of students are Hispanic and 12% are Black, covers the meals with aid from a federal program for low-income school communities. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition, all students are eligible to receive free meals. Food helps me pay attention to what I’m learning,” said Fabian, 10.Īt his school, V. “It’s hard to focus in class when I’m hungry.
On days he doesn’t eat at home first, even the meals offered by the school aren’t enough to keep him feeling full. When he arrives in the morning, Fabian eats breakfast served by the school in South Phoenix, but he can get hungry in the classes before lunch. Department of Agriculture, meaning they lack consistent access to enough food for every person in their family to be healthy.Ĭhildren in such households are more likely to struggle academically and repeat grade levels, among other challenges, according to researchers.įor fourth-grader Fabian Aguirre, it’s hard to think about math equations when he’s sitting in class with a growling stomach. More than 34 million people, including 9 million children, in the United States are food insecure, according to the U. Already, it said, states now are reporting drops in the number of meals served. In the last academic year, with nearly all schools back operating in person, the number of school meals served to students jumped dramatically, and was slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to a report Thursday from the Food Research & Action Center.
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