Hunger

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Notes from the Backpack Podcast


Building Healthy Minds and Bodies

Nearly 49 million Americans—one in five children—live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. Students who don’t have enough to eat are likely to get sick more often, do not perform as well in school and are less likely to graduate from high school and go on to college.

Federal nutrition programs play a critical role in helping students build healthy minds and bodies. The National School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs, offered during the school year, are provided to students most in need at free or reduced costs.  Over the summer the USDA Summer Meals Program provides nutritious, no-cost meals when school is not in session.

These meals, when eaten, provide students with balanced nutrition and the majority of calories needed every day to grow and thrive.

School meals can provide needed nutrition

National PTA Food Insecurity Webinar Series

According to the USDA, 37.2 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2018. Over the last few months, we have seen firsthand how families struggle with food insecurity and hunger. Join National PTA in our four-part Food Insecurity Webinar Series designed to engage with PTAs and parents on food insecurity and empower them by providing tips on how to work to reduce food insecurity within their schools and for their families. The webinar series highlights four topics:

What is Food Insecurity?

June 11, 6-6:30p.m. EDT
Guest Speakers: Stephanie S. Hodges, MS, MPH, RDN from The Nourished Principles, LLC and Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, MPH; Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch.

How is the Charitable Food Sector Addressing Food Insecurity during COVID-19?

June 18, 6-6:30p.m. EDT
Guest Speakers: Stephanie S. Hodges, MS, MPH, RDN from The Nourished Principles, LLC and Sarah Steely, Senior Program Manager at No Kid Hungry Virginia and Shelly Latimore, Marketing Director of Nestlé Pure Life brand, at Nestle Waters.

How Can PTAs Address Food Insecurity during and after COVID-19?

June 25, 6-6:45p.m. EDT
Guest Speakers: Stephanie S. Hodges, MS, MPH, RDN from The Nourished Principles, LLC and local PTAs from across the country.

How can PTAs Advocate for Child Nutrition Programs to Reduce Food Insecurity?

July 9, 6-6:30p.m. EDT
Guest Speakers: Stephanie S. Hodges, MS, MPH, RDN from The Nourished Principles, LLC and Jacki Ball, Director of Government Affairs at National PTA.

Learn More

  • Free Meals Finder (No Kid Hungry): Enter your zip code and the interactive map will show you  school meals sites, food banks and more locations serving food for families.

  • Summer texting hotline (Share Our Strength): Families in need can text the word “FOOD” or “COMIDA” (in Spanish) to 877-877 and receive a text back with the address of summer feeding sites closest to them, or information about how to find their closest feeding site. 

  • Cooking Matters (Share Our Strength): Helps families to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget, as part of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

  • Community Eligibility Resource Center (USDA): Provides extensive resources to help facilitate successful implementation of the Community Eligibility provision in your school.