| ENDING CHILD HUNGER, ONE SCHOOL LUNCH AT A TIME
It’s National School Lunch Week and he’s what Ryan Prater, Director of Public Policy at Feeding Pennsylvania has to say about it.
Lunch. It was always the first thing I looked for when I got my schedule in high school. Was it too early or too late? Do my friends have the same lunch period? Who will I sit with? Today, I still look forward to eating lunch but for different reasons. It’s an opportunity to close my office door, take a short break from the busy workday, and refresh and get my mind ready for the afternoon ahead.
Now, we’ve all missed lunch for one reason or another. Too many meetings, forgotten lunch, just not enough time in the day. But I know when I miss lunch, I find myself sneaking a snack around 2:00 – 3:00 PM just to get through the day. I can’t focus. I’m less productive. And ultimately, I end up choosing less healthy options than if I had eaten a meal.
Unfortunately, missing lunch is a reality for thousands of children and families across Pennsylvania. According to Feeding America, there are more than 436,000 food insecure children across Pennsylvania, with more than a quarter of them residing in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. That is more than six sell-out crowds at the Linc! It is unfathomable that we expect our children to grow, learn, and become productive citizens if we can’t help them meet their basic needs.
Fortunately, we do have programs in place to help address the epidemic of child food insecurity. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) provide free and reduced-price meals to qualifying students. In Pennsylvania, thanks to the leadership of our Governor and General Assembly, breakfast is now free for all students, which has increased access and participation in the program.
“As I’ve traveled across Pennsylvania, one message has come through loud and clear: too many kids are coming to school hungry. We all know that students can’t focus or learn when their stomachs are empty. It’s impossible to expect them to grasp math, science, or English if they haven’t had a meal,” said Governor Shapiro.
A bipartisan House passed a bill (118 – 84) in July to stop school lunch shaming by instituting universal school lunch and eliminating school meal debt. So far, the Senate has yet to take action on this commonsense legislation.
The charitable food system – food banks and food pantries – supply school pantries and backpack programs as well as support after-school and summer meal programs. And just this past summer, Pennsylvania participated in the new, federal SUN Bucks program which provides $40/month during the summer months to qualifying students to purchase food.
Still, there is more we can do to ensure all children have access to nutritious meals at school. We can simplify eligibility and paperwork requirements to make it easier to participate and work to reduce associated stigma. We can promote partnerships with local farmers to increase healthy options available in the lunch line. And we can eliminate lunch shaming so that no student is turned away due to a lack of funds in their account.
The National School Lunch Program was borne out of a recognition that during World War II, many draftees were not meeting physical requirements due to malnutrition. And while we’ve come a long way since the 1940s, too many children are still asking themselves “Will I eat today?” |
