More than 20% of U.S. households with children experienced food insecurity at some time during 2010. This means that at times, they were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members. More than 40% of K-8 teachers say that children coming to school hungry is a serious problem at their school. It is shocking to think how many children go hungry in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.

There is certainly a moral argument to be made that as a society we should ensure children receive the food they need to grow and thrive. There are also practical arguments that can be made (for example, children who receive proper nutrition are less likely to become obese and suffer from related conditions such as the Type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases that make up an ever-increasing percentage of our health care system costs).

To address the childhood hunger problem, the federal government subsidizes both lunch and breakfast at participating schools to students whose families meet certain income requirements, provided the meals meet certain nutritional guidelines. These meals mean a lot to the students who receive them – 65% of K-8 teachers say that most or a lot of their students rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition.  

And the number of children utilizing the school meal program is on the rise (not surprising, given the recent recession). According to the New York Times, 21 million children received subsidized lunch in the last school year – up 17% since the 2006-2007 school year. But interestingly, despite the fact that the vast, vast majority of these children are also eligible for school breakfast, only about 9 million (~43%) eat it. And common sense might suggest that if a child’s family is struggling to find the money to provide a nutritious lunch, they are also struggling to provide a nutritious breakfast.

Why does this matter?  

Again, aside from the moral argument that all children should have enough to eat, research has shown that there are many benefits to children eating a healthy breakfast. And some of that research is specific to children who eat the meal at school. Children who eat breakfast at school have higher standardized test scores. They have improved attention spans and behavior. They visit the school nurse less frequently. They complain less of tiredness, aches and pains, and they have significantly decreased self-reported hunger rates than children who did not participate in the program (see the American Association of School Administrators Benefits of Breakfast page for sources).

There are a number of strategies that have the potential to give more students access to the benefits of school breakfast (check out the National Education Association’s Health Information Network’s Start School with Breakfast: A Guide to Increasing School Breakfast Participation to learn more). And this week we celebrate the efforts of places that are implementing effective school breakfast plans, as well as shine a light on the issue of school breakfast and childhood hunger in general, with National School Breakfast Week.

Yet while I believe it is important to celebrate successes, I also think it is worth reflecting on why we must dedicate a week to this issue. As Share Our Strength Founder and Executive Director Billy Shore asked yesterday on the No Kid Hungry Blog,

Is there a more scathing indictment of current policy and practice than that we need to have an officially designated week to call attention to something that should be as routine, natural, and unremarkable as making sure that our children have breakfast before setting out to learn for the day?

Hopefully someday soon, we won't.

Image By Scott Bauer (photographer) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons