Food Insecurity: Accessing Well and Equal Education

By Sarah Berhanu

(Image source: The Century Foundation)

While there are several barriers that children and young adults face when it comes to obtaining an equitable and fair path to education, one that is oftentimes overlooked is an individual's access to food. Feeding America describes food insecurity as “when people don't have enough to eat and don't know where their next meal will come from. Food insecurity is when people can't access the food they need to live their fullest lives”. There are a variety of reasons why an individual might be facing hunger, such as poverty, unemployment, chronic health conditions, racism, and much more. These issues not only impact an individual's mental health, and well-being but also significantly affect school and work.

One of the biggest impacts to food security today was the COVID-19 pandemic. The  COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges to access to food as unemployment increased, and inflation drove up food prices. Since 2022, food insecurity has risen by 31%, with a 44% rise specifically among children. In 2022, 783,000 children lived in households in which one or more children were facing very low food security, meaning, persons reported multiple instances of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. Without access to nutritious food, reports showed that children often have a harder time concentrating and face lower energy in school. 

During the pandemic, Healthy School Meals for All was implemented, which guaranteed free school lunches for all school children, regardless of financial status. However, this initiative was shut down and not renewed for the 2022-23 school year. This has left states to independently choose whether they want to reinstate the program and continue to feed children, cost and judgment-free. Initiatives have been made by Senators like Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar to introduce new universal free school meal legislation, but it has not made its way past the Senate or the House. Nevertheless, the legislation aims to provide free school meals to all school children, regardless of financial status or ability to provide documentation. Ultimately, not only does this bill reduce the paperwork that some parents would have to fill out, which is not always the most accessible to families, but it also eliminates any negative perception of families having to apply for free meals.

Having access to nutritious food is crucial from the earliest stages of child development. With child readiness being evaluated at such a young age, and lack of access to food from a young age, it can cause a lack of brain development in children therefore making assumptions about a child's ability in a classroom. When a child does not have access to food or if a family runs out of SNAP benefits, studies have shown that it can translate to lower math and reading scores, lack of the same opportunities as food-secure individuals, and also experience more absences and tardiness. Even further, food-insecure individuals are less likely to graduate from high school. Oftentimes, when we are experiencing hunger, we have a hard time concentrating, and getting the task at hand done. This is the life for many children in school, affecting their performance and well-being daily. 

Universal school meal programs are essential to stepping in the right direction in overcoming obstacles and providing each student with an equal education opportunity. With several children enduring hunger every day and struggling to focus in school, better programs and more awareness need to be put into place so that child hunger can be eradicated, and student wellbeing can be uplifted.