November 9th, 2024
Photo Credits: Nadiah Mohammed
Free school meals are vital for the nutrition and health of school-aged children, yet in many communities, these meals remain inaccessible to those who need them most. According to the USDA, the number of children struggling with food insecurity is 10%, or 1 in 10. During the summer, those numbers rise even more.
The difference during the summer is that school is out, and many children rely on those meals to get through the week. Low-income households struggle with the high cost of living and look for food assistance to help sustain their families. Without this, they would be going hungry.
Reality of Need
The idea that families in low-income households have enough to eat because they receive government assistance is not the reality when you look at the numbers. Oftentimes, folks with food assistance don't receive enough benefits to get them through the month and must look for additional food assistance elsewhere.
Food banks help fill that need where other benefits fail, and the needs are rising. The cost of living is high for the average American, and families and individuals can't keep up with grocery costs. This leaves many people without the necessary nutrition to sustain a healthy, active lifestyle. If households decide to spend money on essential bills and go without food, children may be left without food to get through the school day.
Having School Meals For All ensures that children, regardless of income status, have access to nutritious meals that allow them to focus on their education. It also helps maintain their mental and physical health as to not distract them from their studies.
The push for meals for all children is not a new one, but it has recently faced quite a bit of opposition. The criticism of this campaign is that it would cost taxpayers too much money to fund the feeding of all school-aged children. However, when you look at the issue of funding, the impact of preventative measures to keep people healthy pays off in the long run.
Even a 1% drop in hunger would save Californians $600 million in healthcare costs on preventable diseases. Funding programs like School Meals For All ensures that people are healthy and properly fed, but also saves more money in other areas in the process.
School Meals For All Overview
This campaign is a push for funding to cover the costs of feeding all school-aged children healthy, nutritious meals while at school. This has been a nationwide campaign that others have adopted worldwide to ensure all children around the world would not go hungry.
One main point of the campaign focuses on eliminating income-driven options for schools to serve meals to students, which simply allows for too many kids to slip through the cracks. Some families who nearly miss the income threshold would miss out on the benefits of having this program implemented.
Families that make $100 over the income threshold would then have to bare the cost of all meals during the school day for the entire month, which would cost much more than $100. Taking away income-driven options and instead opting for equity amongst all kids, ensures that no children are leaving school hungry.
Schools see the difference with some already implementing these all-free meal programs. According to the School Nutrition Association, a majority of school directors report positive benefits like increased program participation and a more positive social-emotional cafeteria environment.
Wrap-Up
The School Meals For All campaign would be a tremendous help for children and their families and would alleviate hunger and food insecurity for those struggling with its effects. FARSB supports efforts like these to fund programs that ensure all kids have enough to eat, and no one goes hungry.
If you'd like to stay up-to-date on current policies affecting food security, visit FeedingIE.org/advocacy
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