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Departments: Health
When Kids Show Up Hungry
Students should hunger
for knowledge, not food. Yet millions of American kids are going hungry.
In Oregon's St. Helen's School District, one child biked seven miles daily
to get to a summer program with free meals. The NEA Health Information
Network's Rena Large asked the Food Research and Action Center for tips
for educators who need to feed both student stomachs and minds.
How many children are going hungry?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established that the number of
children from "food insecure"--that is, hungry--households rose from 10.36
million in 1997 to 12.37 million in 1998.
How does hunger affect learning?
Hungry students can't learn. Hunger is linked to lower test scores, behavioral
problems, tardiness, and absenteeism. Many students who complain of stomachaches
and headaches are actually experiencing symptoms of hunger.
Everyone is talking about improving student achievement. Research demonstrates
that ensuring that schoolchildren are well-fed is an important first step
toward that goal.
What resources can schools tap?
Tens of millions of children participate in some federal child nutrition
program. But millions of other children who are in need aren't being reached.
What's the most heavily used nutrition program?
The National School Lunch Program serves more than 26 million meals a
day, in 95 percent of the nation's public schools. Without it, many students
would have absolutely nothing to eat during the day.
The school meal applications that schools collect determine the rate
at which schools are reimbursed. Meals are "free" for students whose household
income is below 130 percent of the poverty line and "reduced-price" for
students whose household income is between 130 and 185 percent.
The "paid rate" applies to students whose family income is higher or
who don't turn in an application.
The meal applications are important because, besides providing meals,
they're often used to determine Title I funding and to link students to
health insurance and other services.
The Department of Agriculture is developing a Healthy School Environment
Action Kit with pointers for improving the school lunch environment. Two
tips: Ensure students have enough time to eat a good lunch and schedule
a meal period that's not too early or late.
How does the School Breakfast effort work?
The School Breakfast Program offers students fuel to start the day right.
Unfortunately, during the 1998-99 school year, only 74 percent of schools
in the National School Lunch program also participated in the breakfast
program.
Translation: Over 24,000 schools offer lunch, but not breakfast. Even
in schools that do participate, only two-fifths as many low-income students
eat breakfast as eat lunch. Some students skip the breakfast because they
don't want to be labeled "poor." One way to counter this stigma is to
offer all children in a school a free breakfast. Schools with a high proportion
of low-income kids can serve universal free school breakfast--and lunch--using
federal paperwork-saving mechanisms called Provisions II and III.
Is help available for after-school?
Schools can use federal funds from the National School Lunch Program to
feed students in after-school and youth development programs. A school
can get snack funds even if its after-school is run by a nonprofit. Schools
can also use the Child and Adult Care Food Program to feed students 12
and under in after-school programs.
What about summers?
The Summer Food Service Program can serve children up to two meals a day.
Participating sites don't have to be located in a school, as long as 50
percent of the children in the area or program qualify for free or reduced-price
school meals.
Health Resources
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The Food Research and Action Center is a leading national organization
working to improve public policies to eradicate hunger and undernutrition
in the United States. Visit its Web site (www.frac.org)
for examples of model nutrition programs in schools and profiles of
hunger and nutrition programs in your state. For more, contact Food
Research and Action Center, 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 540,
Washington, DC 20009. 202/986-2200; Fax 202/986-2525.
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For information on federally funded nutrition programs, visit the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service Web site
at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/.
The child nutrition programs provide healthy, nutritious meals and
snacks to the nation's children. Contact your local school officials
or your state agency to find out if your school participates in the
USDA school meals programs.
From the NEA Health Information Network
Violence Prevention
Ten Talks Parents Must Have With Their Children About Violence gives parents
the tools they need to effectively talk with their children about dangers
they may face. Dominic Cappello outlines a series of easy-to-manage and
engaging talks on subjects that range from defining violence and mixed
messages in the media to school safety. $12.95 from Hyperion Press. Order
on the Web at www.tentalks. com and at local or online bookstores.
Medical Research
Advances in medicine and science are developed through research. New treatments
must prove to be safe and effective in scientific studies with a certain
number of patients before they can be made widely available. If you're
interested in participating in a clinical trial, visit the NEA Health
Information Network Web site at www.neahin.org/whatsnew.html
for information on clinical trials and new studies, including the Study
of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR).
Strong Women
Osteoporosis is a disease that gradually weakens bones and can lead to
painful and debilitating fractures. Twenty-eight million Americans are
at risk of developing the disease, 80 percent of them women. Visit the
NEA Health Information Network Web at www.neahin.org/whatsnew.html
for more information on the Strong Women Coalition and osteoporosis prevention,
detection, and treatment.
School Nutrition
The American School Food Service Association has been advancing the availability,
quality, and acceptance of school nutrition programs as an integral part
of education since 1946. Visit the Web at www.asfsa.org to learn more
about nutritious meals in schools, the science of nutrition, eating disorders,
and how you can teach students about nutrition. For more, contact the
association at 700 S. Washington St., Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314,
703/ 739-3900, Fax 703/739-3915.
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