Nutrition – Broader BOLDER Approach to Education

BBA blogs on nutrition issues affecting students

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:40:25 +0000

These commentaries by BBA leaders and others offer perspectives on how issues related to nutrition affect daily classroom life, and what policymakers can do about it.

In No Excuse for Hungry Students, Philadelphia high school teacher Kathleen Melville calls out policymakers who allow millions of US children to come to school without even the basic life necessities and expect teachers to pick up the pieces.
Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman has long been a leading voice for ending US child poverty and hunger, including this January 2016 blog, Hungry Children in Rich America.
In this personal story for Children’s Health Watch, a mother describes how the WIC program provided essential nutrition for her son and should be extended to later ages.

BBA case studies reflect comprehensive nutrition approaches

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:38:31 +0000

BBA case studies illustrate how communities taking a comprehensive, whole-child approach to education incorporate breakfast, lunch, and even snacks and dinner into the school day and year.

CDF’s The State of America’s Children 2014 report

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:34:17 +0000

The Children’s Defense Fund provides a comprehensive compilation and analysis of the most recent and reliable national and state-by-state data on poverty and related factors such as family structure, family income, health, nutrition, early childhood development, education, child welfare, juvenile justice, and gun violence. See The State of America’s Children 2014 Report.

Center for Hunger-Free Communities

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:32:45 +0000

The Center for Hunger-Free Communities uses multi-faceted research and action to develop innovative, empirically-tested solutions to the challenges of hunger and economic insecurity. Witnesses to Hunger, the Center’s research and advocacy project, partners with real experts on hunger—mothers and caregivers of young children who have experienced hunger and poverty – who use digital cameras to frame the issues most important to them and their children. This video on Witnesses’ five-year anniversary illuminates both the breadth of the problem and the power of community voice to combat it.

The critical role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:30:23 +0000

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, expands and contracts according to the need and is thus a critical family nutrition support in hard economic times, as per Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2013 report, “SNAP plays a critical role in helping children.”

Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:28:42 +0000

Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report, shows that summer 2014 marked the largest increase in children eating summer meals since July 1993.

National School Lunch Program: Trends and Factors Affecting Student Participation

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:26:44 +0000

Another FRAC report, National School Lunch Program: Trends and Factors Affecting Student Participation, 2015, analyzes changes in participation levels. It shows that lower family incomes and improvements to the eligibility process for school meals have led to a continuous increase in participation among low-income children.

Breakfast After the Bell: Equipping Students for Academic Success, Secondary School Principals Share What Works

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:25:54 +0000

School meals are one key tool in mitigating the impacts of hunger on academic success. Several reports explore enhancements to the federal school meals program and their impacts.

Breakfast After the Bell: Equipping Students for Academic Success, Secondary School Principals Share What Works, 2015, is a joint report by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) that surveyed 105 secondary school principals in 67 school districts to get their first-hand take on successful school breakfast programs.

The Ten Worst States for Food Insecurity

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:23:13 +0000

Another great resource for understanding US poverty and hunger, Half-in-Ten/Talk Poverty blogs on these issues, incorporating first-hand accounts from those living in poverty. The Ten Worst States for Food Insecurity reveals how, in the face of severe food insecurity, policymakers from many states have adopted policies that make life harder for low-income families.

How Hungry is America?

Don Long — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:22:18 +0000

How Hungry is America? FRAC’s National, State and Local Index of Food Hardship, provides 2015 food hardship data for the nation, every state, and 100 of the country’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).