You do not need to ask which child is hungry, because you can see it in their eyes and their actions. They are tired and worry a lot about getting something to eat.

Lisa Middle School Teacher Saegertown, PA

The free breakfast and free lunch at school are the only meals some of my students get the entire day.

Christine 5th Grade Teacher Boston, Massachusetts

The only meals that this little one, Kimberly, was guaranteed were served at school. Anytime we had leftovers, she would always want to take them home. She’d wrap up the leftover food to take home to her little brothers and sisters. She was a second grader trying to make sure her family got fed.

Kate Middle School Teacher San Antonio, TX

I don’t know if most Americans realize that there are kids relying on school for every meal.

Laura High School Teacher Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The hunger in my classroom looks like headaches, it looks like stomachaches, it looks like tired kids, and it definitely looks like struggling children who have a hard time performing and interacting in the classroom.

Sayuri, 7th grade teacher NY, NY

People wonder why our students are not learning. Ask yourself how you feel when you are hungry. Do you want to pay attention? Can you perform to the best of your ability?

Rachel Elementary School Teacher, Houston, TX

Yes, regularly they came hungry. You can immediately tell because a kid gets angry over something really silly. They’re really impatient. A pencil will break and they will be hysterical. It’s pretty easy to spot a hungry kid.

Melissa Elementary School teacher NY Public Schools, District 7

There are 12.4 million children at risk of hunger in our county. It looks different in different places, but at the end of the day it affects how children learn and retain information that’s critical for their success.

Stephen Second Grade Teacher St. Louis, MO

It breaks my heart that my students are hungry. A very significant proportion of these families’ income goes just to keeping the lights on.  The families have to make tough decisions.  Do we pay the rent or do we eat as much as we’d like until we feel full?  For a lot of parents, the expendable is food.

Jessica High School Teacher California

Did you know that by the end of the year, nearly 17 million children in America will worry about when their next meal will come? That's nearly one in four who are at risk of hunger, and who have limited or uncertain access to the nutritious foods they need to develop to their full potential. Despite its devastating and highly visible consequences, childhood hunger is invisible. You can't see it just by looking, and you can't measure it in pounds, but it is among us: It affects black, white, Asian and Hispanic, short and tall, thin and chubby. Working as Executive Director of Food Services for New Haven Public Schools, I see these children every day. These are the children in our schools who rely on school meals for their ONLY nutrition of the day; YES, I said their ONLY nutrition of the day!

A recent report by the Food Research and Action center shows only 58.4% of Connecticut schools have breakfast and only 38.9% of our low-income students are eating it in schools that serve breakfast. Connecticut leaves $7.6 million on the table in DC due to a lack of school breakfast programs and low student participation. Our kids aren’t hungry because we lack food or because of a lack of food and nutrition programs. They are hungry because they lack access to these programs and to the nutritious food they need to grow and thrive. Increasing breakfast in schools is the first step to making a difference.

Chef Timothy Cipriano