One out of every four children in the United States is hungry. Not just hungry because it’s been four hours since breakfast: hungry because it’s been since lunch on Friday.
Far too many children are not getting much to eat at night and on the weekends. These are children who depend on meals at school, breakfasts and lunches, to provide 10 out of 21 regular meals each week. These aren’t kids who are neglected by uncaring parents. These are kids whose parents are struggling to keep a roof over the family’s head and heat on in the winter. There isn’t much left of a small paycheck once those items are taken care of.
The challenge of hunger is big because food is a daily requirement. Not being able to afford enough food places a huge burden on families. Even families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps) benefits typically run out of that funding in 2 ½ weeks. Emergency food pantries provide food to take home, but each one operates differently and gives out varying amounts of food. This forces families to spend time going to several sources to obtain enough food. And that assumes that there are places to get food that can be accessed when families are able to get there.
How can we expect children to learn and thrive on empty tummies? If education is the key factor in building a self sufficient individual, we must make hungry kids a thing of the past if we ever expect them to succeed. They cannot do it alone and they cannot do it on an empty tummy.
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