Nourishing Success in the New School Year: Food Security for Every Student

By Chelsea Prax, American Federation of Teachers, and Erin Kennedy Hysom, Food Research & Action Center

As students return to school, educators are focused on creating welcoming classrooms, building new relationships, and preparing students for a successful year of learning. Yet for many children, one of the biggest barriers to success has nothing to do with academics. Student food insecurity threatens the health and well-being of millions of children every day, affecting their ability to focus, participate, and thrive in school. Fortunately, back-to-school season gives teachers, counselors, and school leaders an opportunity to help ensure that every child begins the year with the most essential school supply: access to the nutrition they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

How Food Insecurity Affects Student Learning

Food insecurity means a household does not consistently have reliable access to enough nutritious food. It is often the result of families trying to stretch low and stagnant wages amid high food and living costs, including rising housing, child care, health care, and grocery expenses. In classrooms across the country, students struggling with food insecurity may appear anxious, irritable, tired, withdrawn, disruptive, or unable to focus on their work. For educators, recognizing the connection between hunger and learning is critical because students cannot reach their full academic potential when their most basic needs are unmet.

How Educators Can Support Student Food Security

Educators are among the most trusted adults in a child's life and can play an important role in promoting food security by connecting children to federal nutrition programs, such as school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), through the following strategies:

• Encourage eligible families to apply for SNAP, school meals, and other nutrition assistance programs. Include outreach materials and messaging in regular communications to households and at in-person, school-sponsored events.
• Support innovative service models such as Breakfast After the Bell to increase participation in school breakfast and ensure that all students start their day nourished and ready to learn.
• Reduce stigma by normalizing participation in nutrition programs and treating school meals as a benefit for all students, not just those that qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Teachers can embed school meals lessons into the curriculum, invite school nutrition professionals into classrooms, or take students on a tour of the school’s kitchen to familiarize children with the programs and the professionals who operate them.
• Eat school meals! Adults can often purchase school meals directly from the lunch line, helping to normalize participation in school meal programs while modeling healthy eating habits for students.
• Share information about Summer EBT, summer meals, and afterschool nutrition programs with households and the larger school community. Reach out to your school district’s Food and Nutrition Services Department to see if your school is eligible to offer afterschool and summer meals that help promote food security when school is not in session.
• Establish or support wellness committees, share tables, backpack programs, and partnerships with local food banks or pantries.
• Raise your hand for Healthy School Meals for All! As respected voices in the community with a frontline view of school day hunger, school professionals can play a powerful role in advocating for policies that expand all students’ access to free school meals. Connect with state anti-hunger organizations to see where your voice may make a difference in local advocacy efforts and urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Universal School Meals Program Act so that every student, in every state, has access to healthy school meals.

Building Hunger-Free Schools and Communities

Creating hunger-free schools requires a commitment from educators, administrators, nutrition professionals, policymakers, and communities alike. By helping households access federal nutrition programs, strengthening school meal participation, and advocating for policies that ensure every child has access to healthy meals, schools can help fuel students’ health and learning. When students are well-nourished, they are healthier, more engaged, and better prepared to succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Food security is not just a nutrition issue; it is a foundation for academic achievement and educational success.

To discover more ways that education professionals can support student food security, check out Nourishing Success: Food Security for Every Student, a new resource from Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and AFT.

Republished with permission from FRAC.

About the Authors