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NATIONAL TEACHER SURVEY INDICATES HIGH NUMBER OF U.S. CHILDREN TOO HUNGRY TO LEARN
November 23, 2009
Washington, D.C. — Share Our Strength®, the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger in America, released powerful survey results today indicating that teachers across America see children arriving at school hungry. Whether they work in urban, rural or suburban communities, teachers believe that hunger is a problem negatively affecting their student's ability to learn.
Hunger in America's Classrooms: Share Our Strength's Teachers Report, conducted by Lake Research Partners and funded by C&S Wholesale Grocers, shows that schools provide a critical safety net for kids when it comes to food and that teachers often are the first responders to hunger in our classrooms. In fact, 62 percent of teachers say they see children who regularly come to school hungry each week because they are not getting enough to eat at home.
"No amount of creative lesson planning on my part, no amount of studying on my students' part can change the fact that if children don't have their basic nutritional needs satisfied, they cannot learn," said Christine Gottshall, a fifth-grade teacher at Orchard Green School in Roxbury, Mass.
The report contains highlights of a public opinion survey of 740 kindergarten through eighth grade public school teachers nationwide conducted October 21 to 28, 2009.
"No child in America should grow up hungry. We have national programs in place, like school lunch and school breakfast, that can help all kids in need. We need to overcome the barriers that prevent families from enrolling their children in these programs and make sure that all children have nutritious food where they live, learn and play," said Bill Shore, founder and executive director of Share Our Strength.
The study reveals that teachers report seeing a range of physical and behavioral symptoms of hunger in their students, including lack of concentration (92%), lethargy (72%), complaining of hunger (69%), stomachaches (68%), headaches (60%) and irritability (53%).
More than three-quarters of teachers said they respond to hunger in the classroom by helping students' families sign up for free or reduced-price meals. And, shockingly, 63% of teachers report that they spend money from their own pocket to buy food for kids in their classrooms.
Recently released figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that nearly 17 million U.S. children -- almost one in four kids--face hunger today, which is an increase of more than 4 million children in one year. Share Our Strength's report also indicates that the problem in worsening. Among teachers who believe hunger in the classroom is a serious problem, three-quarters say the problem has increased in the past year.
"More families in my school are struggling for the first time. They don't know how to sign their children up for school meals and are embarrassed to ask for help," said Amanda Whitaker, a fifth grade teacher at Gilchrist Elementary School in Tallahassee, Fla. "I teach in a middle class community where few people would believe there are hungry kids, but five out of 24 kids in my class struggle with hunger on a regular basis."
This report was made possible by C&S Wholesale Grocers. "We are proud to support Share Our Strength in its efforts to end childhood hunger in America by 2015," said Gina Goff, Director of Director of Community Involvement at C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. "This report shines a light on a critical problem in this country, and it perfectly aligns with our core priorities of caring for children and eliminating hunger."
Learn More
Find out more by reading the report at strength.org/teachers »
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