Students each day are impacted by access to healthy food

"Hunger Along side Anxiety." As I head onto my bus I can only think about one thing: how hungry I am. We barely had any groceries in the house, and I was going to be late so I could not take the time to even try and find something to eat. The usual distraction of bumpy roads and the sunlight shining in through the windows was no match for my loud, and gurgling stomach. I have a big test today in one of my toughest classes and I'm not even able to think straight. I began to get a headache, as I always do when I am very hungry, and all the what ifs come into my mind as we are heading closer to the school: What if my stomach continues to make loud noises for food during the quietness of the test? What if I faint or cannot think straight? As my anxiety begins to peak on me we arrive at the school. As I enter the doors I smell toast. And that’s when it clicked: We have a breakfast program here. My anxiety begins to dissipate once I am able to get some food in me, and my headache clears up. Without a proper nutrition program like this, I would not have been able to give my test the attention it needed as I would have been just thinking about my hunger and its consequences. School nutrition programs are important for people like me to succeed and give their best. -- Erin.

“I don’t eat breakfast,” The infamous line once muttered by so many people I know, myself included. I can assure you that coming to school every morning with a few seconds to spare before being late and on an empty stomach will deter any student from performing well throughout the day. I can also promise you that anyone who tried telling us breakfast-deficient kids otherwise would only cause another eye-roll. This is why I believe that Student Nutrition Programs are of great importance and can only provide benefits to a school’s student body. No matter what the programs bring to schools, whether it be breakfast service, informational sessions on nutrition, or even a poster promoting healthy development, people will notice and habits will be changed. Being someone who didn’t regularly eat breakfast, I find myself taking refuge in front of the vast assortment of breakfast foods that my school’s Breakfast Club offers now because when nutritious food is so accessible, nobody can turn it down. After the program came to our school, word travelled fast and before I knew it, the people who once subconsciously sought hunger were now loaded with bananas, cereal, milk, and an alertness in class that was once not there before. -- Ivy.

My stomach grumbles as I walk to school. It's not too bad, unlike yesterday when my science teacher was explaining the test. I couldn't focus on anything she said because I was so hungry. The test is last period. It's first break now and all of my friends are eating. I tell them that I had a large breakfast so they won't know there's no food at home. We're way behind on our rent, and dad often has to choose between buying food and having a place to stay. It's torture watching my pals wolf down their snacks. Like clockwork, my head starts pounding as lunch period begins. My friends often ask me why I don't eat lunch. I fear I will eventually run out of excuses. After lunch is the science test, but I'm starting to feel dizzy. Why isn't there a breakfast program here like there was at my old school? The day went so much better when I started off with a full stomach; I could actually concentrate on learning. There were also snack bins in every classroom. My grades were so much better then and I made every sports team. That's not going to happen here. -- Emma.