Child Hunger in Georgia Schools: How Parishes Can Help

Over the past week, children across Middle and North Georgia have returned to school. From ravaged back-to-school supply shelves in stores to social media posts of smiling first-day-of-school students with new shoes and backpacks, there is a lot of excitement (and spending) for the start of the school year.

But not for every student. Some students are brushing off their old backpacks from prior school years. Some are visiting thrift stores for shoes and clothes.

Understanding Child Hunger in Georgia

In 2023, Georgia had 226,000 children living in “extreme poverty” (less than 50% of the federal poverty level). That number represents about 12% of K-12 student enrollment in Georgia’s public schools. This estimate is consistent with the USDA’s estimate that 13.5% of U.S. households are “food insecure.”

Those roughly 1 in 10 students were likely not thinking of school supplies or which friends were in their class. They were most excited for the promise of a meal at lunchtime.

How Hunger Affects Learning and Performance

There have been countless studies that have found hunger and malnutrition can affect concentration, memory, performance, and behavior in school. For example, a 2023 National Library of Medicine study surveyed students, creating perhaps more insightful findings than the more common surveying of parents. Even when controlling for factors such as the student’s socioeconomic status, the school’s socioeconomic status, teacher experience, and teacher educational attainment, the study’s analysis found that hungry students often have lower math achievement than their non-hungry peers.

Addressing Student Hunger

Communities have found ways to support hungry students in their local schools. An effort becoming more common is providing backpacks with food for students to take home over the weekend. Other programs have focused on after-school meals or over-the-summer food distribution to students. As needs grow, there will be more opportunities for supplementing school breakfast and lunch with nutritious options.

How Your Parish Can Help Fight Child Hunger

Your parish can partner with a local school and its counseling staff to help facilitate serving meals and donating food to the most-in-need students. Mobilizing volunteers, inspiring contributions, and advocating will each be integral to providing momentum for a sustainable effort for as many in-need students as feasible. If you’re interested in starting a program like this, ECF can help.

Just as Mother Teresa’s ocean would be less because of that missing drop, your community’s future will be brighter with that one child’s full stomach.

Additional Sources: Annie E. Casey Foundation; Georgia Department of Education.