Back to school has either arrived or is fast approaching for many children. For the millions of low-income students with food insecurities that depend on schools for free and/or reduced price breakfast to start the day — and lunches to sustain them from hunger — the school year could not start any faster.
You may find it hard to believe that in America there are children that have food insecurities. Food insecurity, for those who may not know, is considered the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient amounts of affordable and nutritious food. This does not mean just healthy or affordable foods, but the uncertain access to adequate food (not just snacks, or a potato, but enough food to sufficiently meet the nutritional needs of the individual). Food insecurity and hunger are not the same, but hunger is the physiological outcome or result of food insecurity. In the U.S., there are approximately 18 million children living with food insecurity. That’s about1 out of 7 of all children of different ethnicities. And among those children, 1 in 4 Black children are more likely to have food insecurity. Blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately affected by food insecurity. According studies by the Census Bureau, about 39% of Black households with children, and 37% of Hispanic households with children, are currently food insecure. These studies show that families of color, particularly Black families, have food insecurities at rates that are 2-3 times as high as white households on average. Approximately 14.9% White households with children reported food insecurity, more than twice as low compared with Blacks.
Food insecurity should not be overlooked. It increases the odds that children will develop impaired cognition, language, motor skills, behavior, learning disabilites, and impared social emotional development. Children with food insecurities also are more likely to have emotional distress, decreased quality of life, and poor academic performance. Families in food insecure homes tend to report poorer physical health, poorer overall mental health, anxiety and or depression, lower self esteem. In other words, its hard to focus if you’re hungry.
There is a wealth of research that has proven how beneficial school meals are to reduce food insecurity. Some low-income families depend on school meals to help reduce their food budgets, and for some kids a school meal may be the only meals they can count on. This is also proven during summertime when families struggle from not having access to school meals. During the pandemic this was also an obvious problem. Many children were without school meals that they relied on, and the rate of food insecurity rose by 14%. Due to the rise in unemployment, even more households were left unable to afford food. The pandemic also caused a food shortage at grocery stores, which hindered even more or generated food insecurities for families.
Food insecurity have been and remains an issue for American families for years. While taking a nutrition class, I was stunned to learn that the world wastes an average of 1.4 billion tons of food each year. Of that estimate, Americans waste more food then any country in the world, yet ironically, there are millions of children still going hungry in America, with children of color being disproportionately affected the most.
But do not be misled — not only do low-income, impoverished, or families of color can experience food insecurity. Life unexpectancies could happen to anyone, even in America where nearly any resources seems easily obtainable. Reports have shown an approximate 40% increase in food bank usage comes from individuals experiencing food insecurity for the first time. Since the end of the pandemic, the number of food insecurities has dropped, but currently with rising food prices, living expenses, inflation (wages not matching), and systemic racism, food and other basic necessities are becoming increasingly out of reach for working families and I could imagine the number of people reporting food insecurities growing again.
For the approximately 33.2 million children who receive school meals, of that about 21% are on the free lunch program. Some households that could not qualify for the program for unknown reasons may have food insecurities and may not be able to afford school meals, forced to choose between shelter, medicine or food. Families that payed for meals during the pandemic did not have to worry. The majority of states opened free meals to all students k-12 no matter their eligibility, but once schools opened, they went back to pre-screening. One California district kept the free meals for all students K-12 no matter their eligibility. The Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) was the first district to begin offering free breakfast and lunch to all students due to high need and reported food insecurities. The program proved successful.
For many children and families in California, they no longer have to worry about eligibility and wether or not their child can eat in school. The beginning of the school year 2022–23, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that established a universal meal program for all K-12 public school students that will provide two free meals, breakfast and lunch, each school day to students requesting a meal, regardless of the student’s eligibility. California will become the first state to implement a statewide Universal Meals Program (UMP) for school children K-12. The program will not only offer free meals to all, but it requires training to staff and the extra funding will give some school a option to implement more nutritious meals like egg white breakfast wraps, vegetarian options, and organic meat.
In both good economic times and bad, families of color consistently experience higher rates of poverty and food insecurity, especially when compared to White families. It’s still baffles me that in America not only children, but many individuals go hungry, especially when America is the biggest contributor to food waste in the world. But with a new school year upon us, for many children with food insecurities that depend on school meals, programs like UMP, could help reduce the number of children that suffer from food insecurity in the United States if other states learn to put children first and follow suite.
Falisha McGee is a Contributing Editor covering health and entertainment for BLK News Now! She is an activist and blogger who is passionate about the progress of Black Americans. She is also an avid supporter of Black women’s health and well-being. She can be reached at Falisha@BLKNewsNow.com.