Latest news with #SarahSteely
Axios
24-03-2025
- General
- Axios
Half of Washington students qualify for lunch aid
Nearly 50% of Washington students — or roughly 538,000 kids — are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Why it matters: Teachers nationwide are increasingly worried about childhood hunger, with three-quarters reporting students come to school hungry, according to a survey of 1,000 K-12 public school teachers in the U.S. Zoom out: Nearly 8 in 10 (78%) of teachers said they were concerned about food insecurity in the communities where they teach, per the survey. The big picture: Proposed cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food assistance program, serving more than 41 million Americans, and federal funding cuts to free school meals could increase hunger, experts say. What they're saying:"SNAP is one of the most effective tools we have as a nation to address childhood hunger," Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia, told Axios. "It provides families with that extra help to put food on the table so that kids can have access to consistent nutrition all year round, especially filling the void during school breaks."
Axios
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Educators raise alarm about childhood hunger
Teachers across the country are growing increasingly worried about childhood hunger, with three-quarters reporting students come to school hungry, a nationally representative survey of U.S. teachers found. Why it matters: The growing fears among educators come at a time when food prices remain high five years after the onset of the COVID pandemic and a growing percentage of Georgia public school students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches. The big picture: Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal food assistance program serving more than 41 million Americans, could exacerbate an already dire issue, experts say. Around 40% of SNAP benefits go to children, per USDA data. What they're saying:"SNAP is one of the most effective tools we have as a nation to address childhood hunger," Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia, told Axios. "It provides families with that extra help to put food on the table so that kids can have access to consistent nutrition all year round, especially filling the void during school breaks." The latest: Nearly 8 in 10 (78%) of teachers said they were concerned about food insecurity in the communities where they teach, per a survey of 1,000 K-12 public school teachers. It was commissioned by meal kit provider HelloFresh in partnership with No Kid Hungry, a campaign focused on ending childhood hunger. "Teachers are sounding the alarm that the state of hunger in this country and in their classrooms is really unacceptable," Steely said. Zoom in: 67.5% of public school students were eligible for free and reduced-price lunch as of Oct. 1, 2024, according to Georgia Department of Education data. That's up from 63.7% reported on Oct. 1, 2023 and 59.3% documented a year before that. Flashback: A federal program that provided free school lunches to all students, no matter their household income, came to a halt in 2022 when Congress didn't continue the pandemic-era waiver. Georgia opted out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer EBT Program, which would have provided free summer lunch to students in low-income households. House Bill 60, which would have provided free meals to Georgia students, failed to gain traction during this year's legislative session. The Georgia Department of Education does have a Seamless Summer Option, under which districts can opt in to provide free meals to students.
Axios
17-03-2025
- General
- Axios
Exclusive: Teachers increasingly worried about childhood hunger, survey finds
Teachers across the country are growing increasingly worried about childhood hunger, with three-quarters reporting students come to school hungry, a nationally representative survey of U.S. teachers found. The big picture: Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal food assistance program serving more than 41 million Americans, could exacerbate an already dire issue, experts say. Around 40% of SNAP benefits go to children, per USDA data. What they're saying:"SNAP is one of the most effective tools we have as a nation to address childhood hunger," Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia, told Axios. "It provides families with that extra help to put food on the table so that kids can have access to consistent nutrition all year round, especially filling the void during school breaks." Zoom in: Nearly 8 in 10 (78%) of teachers said they were concerned about food insecurity in the communities where they teach, per a survey of 1,000 K-12 public school teachers. It was commissioned by meal kit provider HelloFresh in partnership with No Kid Hungry, a campaign focused on ending childhood hunger. "Teachers are sounding the alarm that the state of hunger in this country and in their classrooms is really unacceptable," Steely said. She added that the stark figure shows "we're failing our students and that we need to do better." By the numbers: About three-quarters (74%) of teachers said they see students come to school hungry at least monthly, per the survey. About six in 10 teachers (61%) reported knowing firsthand that their students are experiencing hunger. State of play: Food prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, but have continued to climb since, growing 23.6% from 2020 to 2024 and outpacing overall inflation, per the U.S. Economic Research Service. "Food insecurity grew, and it didn't stop growing after the end of the pandemic," said Jeff Yorzyk, senior director of sustainability at HelloFresh. "So we're seeing a growing problem there, and we're seeing shrinking resources being put against it." Almost half of teachers surveyed said they've grown more concerned about food insecurity compared to the past 12 months. Rising cost of food (79%) and low household incomes (74%) were cited as the top barriers that teachers believe are preventing their students from getting enough to eat. Between the lines: The Trump administration's new tariffs and retaliatory action could cause food prices to rise again. In addition, House Republicans voted last month to pass a budget resolution that sets the stage for $230 billion or more in cuts to agriculture programs, with a large chunk expected to come from SNAP. "It is exactly the type of program that helps families during these times of concern," Steely said. "This is not the time to be cutting SNAP." The bottom line: A large majority of teachers, 88%, agreed they would like to see more done about the current state of hunger and food insecurity in general. "We definitely saw really strong results with teachers feeling that policy solutions should be in place," Yorzyk told Axios. "There's a real need for state, federal and local government to partner in addressing this," he said, adding there's a place for corporations to be a part of the solution too. "Teachers have enough going on, and they should be able to focus their time on educating our nation's students, and not feeding them," Steely said. The fine print: The online survey was conducted among 1,000 K-12 public school teachers between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3. Go deeper: What cutting junk foods from SNAP could mean for millions of recipients
