Child Food Insecurity: Hunger in the Classrooms

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America, despite recent economic turmoil, is still for many people an ideal place. Often referred as the land of the free and the land of opportunity, America sets herself to be the role model for the rest of the world. Yes, we have the largest economy in the world and we have a stable and legitimate government, but can we really act as the role model for other nations when over 49 million Americans are hungry? What is not often advertised about America is fact that hunger is still a very serious and real problem many Americans struggle with every day. Hunger is often associated with the homeless population, but in reality, hunger affects anyone who lives a food-insecure lifestyle. The victims of hunger come from various demographics, but an alarming number of the victims are children. Americans have different religions and opinions on many things but feeding children is something everyone can agree on. Too often, people overlook the consequences of growing up in a food-insecure household; statistics have shown that many children who live in a food-insecure household perform lower in school than their well-fed peers. The consequences of hunger do not end with just a few poor test grades; the effect hunger has on a child’s education is, in many cases, devastating and permanent. With that said, we are left with a few questions: to what extent is hunger affecting students’ performances, how is it contributing to the inequalities found in the American education system, and how are people of faith dealing with the problem of hunger?
A teacher from Maryland said, "One of my students this year came up to me during a test and said she was having trouble. When I asked her which question she needed help with, she answered, "I don't need he...

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...Spencer Foundation, Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
"Hunger in Our Schools: Share Our Strength's Teacher Report | End Child Hunger in America - No Kid Hungry." Hunger in Our Schools: Share Our Strength's Teacher Report | End Child Hunger in America - No Kid Hungry. No Kid Hungry, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Levin, Madeleine. "School Breakfast in America’s Big Cities: School Year 2010–2011." Urban School Breakfast Reports. The Food Research and Action Center, Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Massaro, Thomas. Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Franklin, WI: Sheed & Ward, 2000. Print
Parker, Suzi. "The Worst State for Food Insecurity Changes Course With School Breakfasts." TakePart. TakePart, 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Pringle, Peter. A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 Million Hungry Americans and How to Solve It. New York: PublicAffairs, 2013. Print.

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