For many children and families, back-to-school season can be exciting, even with the stress of new routines and school supply shopping. It’s the beginning of a whole new year full of opportunities! Children can look forward to making new friends and learning new things, and their parents look forward to watching their children grow and excel.
However, this season looks very different for food insecure children. Did you know that 1 in 5 children in our service area are at risk of hunger? These children live all around us- They might be neighbors or our children’s classmates. Lack of access to healthy food affects their concentration and memory, negatively impacting their school performance. Many studies have found connections between hunger and behavioral issues in the classroom. For hungry children, back-to-school season can be a time of stress, not excitement. Food insecurity also causes unimaginable stress for their families, who are often faced with an impossible choice between paying rent and buying groceries. These are impossible choices no one should have to make.
Our programs provide children and families with nutritious meals and support them on their path to food security. In particular, our School Choice Pantries allow us to offer food support tailored to meet the unique needs in specific schools and communities. School Site Coordinators, community members who partner with the Food Shuttle to create and maintain Child Hunger Programs at their local schools, have a deep understanding of their communities’ unique needs and populations, which they when communicate to the Food Shuttle. This allows us to customize the foods available to each community.
For example, a School Site Coordinator at Rocky Mount Preparatory School identified a need for diabetic-friendly foods in her community’s School Choice Pantry. She communicated this need to our Child Hunger Programs team, who then worked with her to offer more options to diabetic neighbors in her community. In other communities, School Site Coordinators have identified a need for food that is tailored to families experiencing homelessness, who might not have access to refrigeration or consistent ways to heat meals.
School Choice Pantries and our School Site Coordinator partners also allow us to offer culturally relevant foods to communities. We understand that communities of color are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity, and that providing these neighbors with foods tailored to their tastes, preferences, and religious needs is an important part of creating food equity.
As children return to the classroom, they should be able to focus on learning, not where their next meal might come from. Our programs provide them with food that is fresh, nutritious, and tailored to the unique needs of their families and communities, but we can’t do it without your help. Will you partner with us to erase hunger this back-to-school season?