Although Chapel Hill is relatively affluent compared to the rest of the state, many local households cannot afford food. In Orange County, 12 percent of residents, including 3,200 children, are food insecure. Across North Carolina, over 1.2 million people confront hunger—and 16 percent of children have difficulty obtaining food. These numbers have only increased as a result of the pandemic, which has made it even more challenging for families to access meals.
“Food insecurity is present in our community, and it helps when everyone can be aware and work together to make sure that all families have plenty of food,” said school social worker Melissa Breaden, who helps connect East families to organizations such as PORCH, TABLE, Interfaith Council and Heavenly Groceries, and supports students needing free or reduced-cost school meals.
In addition to local food organizations, federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which temporarily helps families afford meals, have become especially critical amid the economic crisis and devastation wrought by the pandemic, according to advocates like Breaden.
“There are many different circumstances that families experience which can lead to economic instability and food insecurity. COVID-19 impacted even more families, with many parents losing their jobs due to businesses closing and services not being in high demand,” Breaden said. “While many businesses have recovered, the current inflation of food prices has presented a new challenge for many families to afford groceries each week.”
Last school year, following the need nationwide to increase nutritional access to K-12 children during COVID-19, CHCCS adopted a universal free meal program, enabling all students to receive free breakfast and lunch. In addition, the policy removed the stigma that may accompany the 29 percent of CHCCS students who rely on free or reduced-price lunches. However, universal meals have been revoked this year, as school meal waivers have expired nationwide.
“Access to meals is one of the most important factors of a child’s health and success,” said Ruth McDowell, President of the School Nutrition Association of N.C. and director of school nutrition services for Edgecombe County Public Schools. “Schools offer free books and transportation, so why shouldn’t food be added to that list?”
For years, heated debate and activism around school meals have reflected the fact that they serve a vital source of nutrition for millions of U.S. children, especially those who are economically disadvantaged and would otherwise find difficulty obtaining meals. According to the NIH, food insecurity increases the risks of diet-related diseases such as obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, stressing the importance of school meals in determining the health of less privileged children.
On March 24, President Joe Biden pledged to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition with the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities, building upon the Sept. 28 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, in which the Biden-Harris administration announced its goal of enabling at least 9 million more children across the country to have access to free school meals by 2032.
Affirming schools’ central role in feeding children, school meals guarantee nearly half of students’ daily calorie intake. Twenty four million students rely on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which provides funding to states and localities like CHCCS, and 30 million participants depend on its morning equivalent, the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Meanwhile, an estimated 17 million U.S. children endure hunger—six million more as a result of the pandemic. Another 2.7 million families nationally suffer from food insecurity.
All of this places an incalculable onus on school cafeteria workers, who are already leaving their jobs due to COVID-19 and lingering concerns about workplace safety, as well as changing economic and social factors that make it easier to work from home and enter private jobs with similar pay.
Starting in 2020, cafeteria workers across the district committed to feeding students through Food For Students, formerly known as Food For The Summer, working closely with food service partner Chartwells K12, as well as local non-profits such as PORCH, Farmer Foodshare and the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Foundation. Beginning with 21 food distribution sites and fliers in six languages, the program expanded to nine more underserved areas to provide over one million meals to the community during the pandemic.
“The work from our district staff, community partners and volunteers… has been a huge community effort which is serving a critical need for our students across the district… It warms my heart to see all of these people helping our community,” said Riza Jenkins, CHCCS School Board Member.
While the district could reach many more students through programs such as Food For Students, there are also long-standing concerns over the quality of the food served. To improve available food options during in-person learning, CHCCS distributed a survey to students last spring.
According to the results of the ECHO’s October survey, most students who buy school lunch categorize the quality of the food served on a 1-5 scale, with 10 representing maximum quality.
Question: Do you buy school lunch?
Question: How would you rate the quality of the food? (1 being very poor, 10 being very good)
“While I’ve enjoyed eating school meals during my time at East, I do feel there are areas that nutritional guidelines can generally improve upon to allow my peers and I to feel more satisfied after eating school meals,” said junior Brooke Harrison.
Other students with specific dietary needs and preferences have lamented a lack of vegan options in East’s cafeteria.
“I bought school lunch a couple of times last year, but I stopped because cafeteria options for vegans aren’t very inclusive,” said senior Grace Odondi. “Compared to my freshman year, the variety and quality of food has improved somewhat, but I still think there is room for advancement.”
For years, researchers and activists have referenced the correlation between nutrition and educational outcomes. With healthier meals, students are better able to learn and obtain new skills and information. This relationship between food and academic outcomes could contribute to the gap between low-income students and their wealthier peers, especially in the CHCCS district, with the second highest achievement gap nationwide.
Despite strides in providing healthier food options, particularly under pioneering legislation by the Obama Administration such as the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, some activists have argued that school meals could better serve students’ nutritional needs. While the original Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act stipulated that schools serve more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and reduced fat milk, as well as fewer high sodium and trans fat foods, the legislation has since seen several rollbacks by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), threatening the gains made over the last decade since the legislation was passed.
Though the USDA regularly amends school meal nutritional guidelines, it fails to consistently ensure healthy food options, as evidenced by revisional changes in recent years. Even the updated guidelines include unhealthy hot foods such as pizza and french fries, without imposing any restrictions on the amount of servings available to each student. To remove the allure of cheaper, less healthy competitive options, many advocates propose allocating more funding to school meal programs.
Dr. Alice Ammerman, a Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, argues that although further financial support should be given, school meal programs are largely adequate in providing nutritious options, in spite of public belief.
“The school nutrition program serves healthier food than many people think. There are many guidelines to require this but the funding is very limited so it is hard for schools to afford the healthiest food options,” Ammerman said. “Low-income students are very much in need of these programs because they may not get adequate nutritious meals at home. In general, school meals are healthier than many lunches students bring from home.”
Another aspect of school meal programs that has come under scrutiny includes the environmental impacts. According to the World Wildlife Fund, annually U.S. schools produce at least 530,000 tons of food waste. Moreover, a fifth of calories available in school lunches were wasted, and nearly three quarters of vegetables and milk were discarded from lunch trays, according to the 2019 School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS).
Ammerman is a member of the Food Recovery Task Force as part of the North Carolina Local Food Council (NCLFC) that works to recover food waste to promote the environment as well as feed food-insecure individuals. The Task Force was created after a group of local food councils, including the Orange County Food Council, reached out to the NCLFC with an issue that they noticed was affecting food recovery efforts in their communities.
“The local food councils highlighted confusion within the communities and local health departments, and identified the need for clarity around the rules and regulations that provide the framework for prepared food recovery activities for human consumption,” Ammerman said. “In response to the local food councils’ request for support, NCLFC formed a Food Waste Recovery Working Group including members from state and local councils to better understand the challenges regarding prepared food recovery policy, and to identify the next steps to improve prepared food recovery outcomes. As part of this group, I have supervised students to collect survey data, and now collaborate on efforts to create more standardized guidelines.”
At East, excess food waste is easy to spot. Across Freshman Hill and other parts of campus, discarded trays of food litter the ground. The addition of composting to the school cafeteria has helped to reduce food waste, yet the program is still in its early stages. Ammerman emphasized that schools, alongside every stakeholder in a community, have the responsibility to help lessen food insecurity, even if that means taking small steps such as recovering food waste.
East students can also individually help their peers facing the threat of hunger. Breaden said that “it is important for students to learn about the needs of the community, the current resources available and see where there may be gaps.” As such, students can work with organizations such as PORCH, TABLE and Interfaith Council to collect food or raise funds. If a student becomes aware of a peer or family who is confronting food insecurity, they can also contact East’s social workers, who can reach out to the student and family confidentially and support them in meeting their nutritional needs.
“Awareness is the first step to addressing food insecurity in the community,” Breaden said. “We all face challenges, but as a community, it is our responsibility to come together and help our peers and fellow East families with pressing needs, especially as we continue to recover from this difficult time. I’m proud of the fact that we can all come together no matter our background to help others who are struggling, and that we continue to do so in light of COVID-19, to ensure that no one in the community goes hungry.”
Photos courtesy of CHCCS Food For Students
