The poll by the advocacy group No Kid Hungry found that 76% of public school teachers said more kids are coming to school hungry and pretty regularly and not just every once in a while.
The study found that hunger is on the rise among school-age children in the US, and that without proper nutrition, attendance, participation and grades suffer.
No Kid Hungry also found that for the first time in history, more than half of public school children are from low-income families. The group suggests that there are several ways to help overcome hunger in schools, and that includes serving breakfast in the classroom so that everyone eats and no one is embarrassed.
The Food Research and Action Center reports that nearly 10 million school kids who quality for free lunch don’t eat the free breakfast that is often offered at school, either because they don’t get there in time or they feel embarrassed that they qualify for free food at school.
Changing protocols at school so food can be served during class will likely help many people, the advocacy groups say. An overwhelming majority of teachers said students pay better attention in class when they eat breakfast and more than half reported higher attendance.
