Child Hunger Emily Walls

What Exactly IS Hunger/Food Insecurity? Food insecurity = USDA’s measure of the lack of access, at times, to the proper amount of food to lead an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. May not be ALL of the time. May be a reflection of household trade-offs on a need-to-need basis. 1 in 6 children may not know where their next meal is going to come from.

What are Household Trade-Offs? A household trade-off occurs when a family must decide which necessity of living is most important to pay for at the current time over other needs. A family being forced to limit their financial payments can and WILL affect their children’s daily lives. Examples of household trade-offs: Paying rent instead of the electric bill. Making the car payment instead of purchasing nutritious foods.

American’s and Food Insecurity “In September of 2016, the Economic Research service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released it’s most recent report on food insecurity, indicating that 41 million people in the United States are living in food insecure households, 13 million of whom are children.” This has since increased to 49 million American’s, including 16 million of whom are children.

Home Sweet Home In Missouri alone there are 947,900 food insecure individuals. 15.6% of Missouri residents Butler County: Population of 42,951 people 17.6% food insecurity rate Estimated that 7,560 individuals in Butler Co. alone face food insecurity.

Hungry Kids at School Being hungry affects all functions of the human body, and can therefore reduce the amount of learning that a child can accomplish. When children are hungry at school they are more likely to: Repeat a grade level in elementary school. Experience language & motor skill development delays. Have an increase in social & behavioral problems.

How Can We Help? ENDLESS ways to help reduce the number of food insecure students in our schools. Implement daily food programs Free/reduced breakfast & lunch Summer lunch programs Backpack programs for the weekends After school programs that offer dinner meals

One Way to Discover Food Insecure Families… Screen families throughout the school year with surveys, questionnaires, etc. to get an idea of which families may need assistance. Some may say that families will not always be honest on forms, yet if they truly need help they will more than likely not be afraid to fill out as needed. Surveys/Questionnaires sample questions: “What is your average monthly household income?” “How many individuals are living in your household?” “How many meals on average does your family eat per day/week?”

Programs Breakfast & Lunch programs Some suggest making breakfast a part of the regular school day schedule just like lunch. Summer programs These offer students a way to get fed when school is not in session. Backpack programs Sends food supplies home with students on Friday afternoon to ensure they are fed before coming back on Monday morning. After-School programs Offer a place for students to go after school until parents get off of work, with a meal provided before leaving.

Workshops Schools can offer workshop courses teaching families how to stretch their money, shop smarter, make healthier food choices, & how to cook new meals/recipes that go farther. These workshops provide a fun way of learning, in a safe environment without judgement. Can be beneficial to families who need the extra push or helping hand.

Child hunger does not have to last… With the ever-increasing amount of students showing up to school hungry daily, we as educators MUST act. If each one of us decide to help in the smallest of ways, we can see a major decline of food insecurity in our schools and community.

References http://www.feedingamerica.org/ https://www.hungercenter.org/ https://nokidhungry.org/ https://foodandnutrition.org/ https://aap.org/