Blog Post #3

 Prompt: Research a contemporary news story related to education justice. (You might check out NPR’s or NYT’s education pages for ideas.) Briefly introduce the issue (linking to relevant articles for classmates who’d like to read more and appropriately citing information taken from outside sources), and then share your thoughts on the issue. Why is the issue important? How should we respond to it? What are the event’s broader implications? (Make sure you’re not just reporting on the event, but sharing your own reflections and responses.)

The end of the universal free lunch program in the United States has led to students to accumulate large amounts of meal debt that they have no real way of paying off. A school in Oakland, Missouri noticed that around 80-million more meals were provided when they were offered to students for free during the pandemic. While this story focuses on one school district, similar narratives are appearing all over the country as the federal program ended. During the pandemic, many families experienced sickness, family deaths, and unemployment and the free lunch program relieved the stress of paying for their childrens’ meals. 

(Image taken from: https://www.kcur.org/2023-03-30/meal-debt-is-soaring-after-universal-free-lunch-ended-how-are-midwest-states-responding) 

Some states such as California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Colorado have taken action and passed legislation for free meals in school. While it would take more funding from the federal government, we should be taking steps to lessen the number of students who attend school hungry. Students who attend school hungry often struggle more than their peers and are more likely to repeat a grade and score lower on tests. Education is essential in our society and paves the way to a better future. During their early developmental years, it can be easy for those with food insecurity to fall behind, which has the potential to continuously affect them for the rest of their lives.  

Children without nutrition cannot be expected to concentrate at the same level as their peers. If the government requires that a student shows up at school, then they should also take steps to set their students up for success. 

In the end, this issue offers a broader insight to food insecurity in the United States and draws attention to just how many students rely on school meals. In addition, it also shows the ways in which schools in our society are underfunded.