Hunger in Schools

A Whopping 76% Of Teachers Say Kids Come To School Hungry. Here's What's Being Done

In Huffington Post Education
By Eleanor Goldberg
March 4, 2015  

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 Key Points

This article is written in conjunction with a recent survey done by No Kids Hungry. It focuses on the importance of proper nutrition for students and shows a shocking result that more than half of public school students are from low income families.  It touches on the social aspect of free lunches and why so many students refuse services for fear of judgement from peers or inability to get to school during breakfast hours. The article finds that schools that serve lunch at the beginning of class in the classroom ease these pressures and give students a higher chance of success both physically and emotionally in learning environments. The video is published by No Kids Hungry and is related to the article posted by Huffington Post Education.

Intended Audience

The intended audience of this article is educators, teacher researchers, lawmakers, and policymakers.


Relevance

This really tied together a few points for me especially in relation to the Iceberg Model and understanding that what we often see as educators is just the surface of matters that are deeper than that. Hunger is something that isn't always visible. Yes there is a physical aspect of it (weight and malnutrition) but there's also an emotional aspect that isn't present to the blind eye. Hunger becomes an emotional hindrance in learning and a very serious, and real one at that. It also raises the ethical question as to whose responsibility is it? Ultimately it's the parent or guardian who plays the sole provider but what happens when that isn't the case and those needs are being met? I just wonder how we as educators and teacher researchers can help alleviate the pressures that hunger in students bring to learning and what options are there to ensure that students don't lack basic needs?