Op-ed
Spring 2015
Children need proper nutrition to grow, learn, and thrive, yet one in five schoolchildren can’t
count on getting enough nutritious food at home. Hunger is tied to a host of health and
developmental problems, and our schools are often on the front lines in this battle.
Fortunately they have a tool at their disposal to fight hunger in schools — an option called
community eligibility that’s leading to millions more children getting healthy school meals,
and that has the potential to help children in our community.
Community eligibility benefits both students and schools. It allows high poverty schools to
offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge. It reduces administrative costs for
schools by eliminating paper applications for school meals, allowing schools to focus more
on teaching children. Parents can stretch tight food budgets further knowing children will
receive two nutritious meals at school. And because meals are free to all students in eligible
schools, it eliminates the stigma associated with eating breakfast and lunch at school.
What does that mean for [STATE]? [#] schools out of [#] eligible schools in [STATE} now
provide nutritious meals at no charge every day. By adopting community eligibility, the [#]
eligible schools that have not tried it can ensure the most vulnerable students have a fair
chance to learn and succeed in school.
And there’s still time for schools to take advantage of this remarkable and successful
program. This spring, eligible school districts in [STATE] that have not yet done so will have
another chance to take advantage of this important opportunity to help end childhood
hunger and mitigate the hardships of poverty. All they need to do is apply to the state child
nutrition agency.
For [ORGANIZATION], this is a no-brainer. Community eligibility has a proven track
record of success in increasing both breakfast and lunch participation, and ensuring that
children are prepared to thrive in the classroom. Feeding hungry children is one of the best
investments we can make. Studies show that students with reliable access to better nutrition
tend to perform better academically. Community eligibility is a targeted, low-cost option
that will go a long way to help hungry children.
That is why we urge eligible schools and districts across the state to adopt community
eligibility for the coming school year. Community eligibility is a simple way to help
[STATE’S] most vulnerable students succeed in school and have access to a brighter future.
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