{"id":12808,"date":"2024-09-04T16:18:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T16:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/louisiana\/?p=12808"},"modified":"2024-09-04T16:18:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T16:18:15","slug":"food-is-the-most-important-school-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/louisiana\/2024\/09\/04\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Is the Most Important School Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"12808\" class=\"elementor elementor-12808\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a450aea elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a450aea\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-dfc009b\" data-id=\"dfc009b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bef5738 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"bef5738\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/louisiana\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/09\/2-scaled.jpg\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a798a11 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a798a11\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-eb7c035\" data-id=\"eb7c035\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6c8053 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d6c8053\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Across <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Louisiana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Louisiana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, as many as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">260,000<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> children are facing food insecurity. For these students, a healthy meal is the most important school supply &#8211; as important to their learning as a new notebook and pencils. With the high costs of food, fuel, and other essentials, many hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet. School meals programs help take some of the burden off of these families, making sure kids are able to access nutritious meals every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h3><b>Why School Meals Matter<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a sentence? School meals are a <\/span><b>healthy, convenient, and inclusive <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">way to ensure students have the nutrition they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Healthy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals conform to nutritional guidelines, making sure that kids are getting the fruits, veggies, and proteins they need to grow and be healthy. In fact, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/now.tufts.edu\/2021\/04\/12\/study-finds-americans-eat-food-mostly-poor-nutritional-quality-except-school\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> shows that for many children, the meals they eat at school are the most nutritionally balanced meals they get all day.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Convenient<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals can save busy parents the work of having to prepare breakfast and lunch each morning.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Inclusive<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: School meals help create a sense of community, by bringing together peers and trusted adults, like teachers. They play a role in building equity in the school, making sure kids can focus on their classwork and on just being kids. And school meals are available to <\/span><b>ALL <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">children, regardless of immigration status.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Karla Horton, Child Nutrition Program Supervisor for Bossier Parish School Board, said to us,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s hard to concentrate on anything when you are hungry. Although often overlooked, school meals are a vital part of the academic world. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everyone can agree that it is essential for students to eat a nutritious meal on standardized testing days to enhance their academic performance. However, school meals are just as important on regular school days. Hot, nutritious meals literally fuel students\u2019 minds and bodies. The school cafeteria is also a place for students to receive encouragement from the caf\u00e9 staff and provide a break from their busy day.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><h3><b>School Meal Applications and CEP\u00a0<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In most districts, families must complete and submit applications to determine their eligibility for free or reduced price meals. Even schools that offer free meals for all students (for example, through the Community Eligibility Provision) may require families to complete applications. Applications for free and reduced price meals are also one of the primary ways to determine eligibility for Summer EBT &#8212; a grocery-buying benefit for families during the summer. School meals applications may also qualify families for additional benefits, like discounted exam fees and college applications, extracurriculars, scholarship opportunities, and even home wifi. They can also help your child\u2019s school secure additional classroom resources that will support all students\u2019 education.<\/span><\/p><p><b>If you have school aged children, be sure to fill out an application for free or reduced price meals this school year!<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Spread the word, too, and encourage your friends and family to contact their children\u2019s school to learn more. Work at a school district and want to spread the word about meal applications? Check out our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/express.adobe.com\/page\/1IPGBCsq9UO89\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Outreach Toolkit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for social media graphics, newsletter blurbs, and more &#8211; in both English and Spanish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No Kid Hungry <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Louisiana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is working to ensure every child in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Louisiana<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> can access the healthy school meals they need to grow up healthy and strong. We do this through providing grants to launch and improve school meals programs; advocating for smart state and federal school meals policies; building awareness; and offering tools, resources, and training to help build and maintain successful school meals programs. Looking for assistance? Check out our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/louisiana\/resources-2\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Resources page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or reach out to <\/span><a href=\"mailto:tblackwell@strength.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tblackwell@strength.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across Louisiana, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. Unfortunately, in Louisiana, as many as 260,000 children are facing food insecurity. For&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Food Is the Most Important School Supply - LOUISIANA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nkh-state-nkh-state.pantheonsite.io\/louisiana\/2024\/09\/04\/food-is-the-most-important-school-supply\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Food Is the Most Important School Supply - LOUISIANA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Across Louisiana, families, educators, and kids are heading back to their classrooms for another year of learning. 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