School meals provide essential nutrition to help students stay focused during the school day, they offer kids a comforting source of consistency, and they serve as a lifeline to many children and families, easing uncertainty and financial strain. Learn about how school meals are essential to student health and academic success, and how supporting school meals means supporting the local economy. Learn more.
Kids can’t learn if they’re hungry. From meeting a student’s basic needs, to giving them the edge they need to succeed academically, school meals are a vital part of the educational day.
School nutrition teams and educators can find the latest resources and research from No Kid Hungry below.
FOOD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SCHOOL SUPPLY
No child should go hungry in America. That’s why No Kid Hungry is working to ensure kids get three meals a day to grow up healthy, happy and strong. Learn more.
- *NC team favorite* See video stories from kids and educators across the nation on how access to food has made an impact to them and their schools. Watch here.
UNIVERSAL MEALS FOR ALL AND CEP: THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
A growing number of states have advanced legislation in recent years to support universal free school meals. Many of these approaches leverage federal funding streams, like the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
- See what’s happening across the nation to make school meals available for all at no cost to families.
- Learn more about CEP.
- *NC team favorite* See the Carolina Hunger Initiative’s webinar debrief of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which covers new possibilities for CEP and the road to School Meals for All in North Carolina.
SPOTLIGHT ON EQUITY
We know that kids with access to healthy meals learn better. Communities of color and economically marginalized communities suffer disproportionately when it comes to food insecurity. Equity practices can improve access to meals for all kids. Learn about equity practices and policies from school districts across our nation who are making efforts to eliminate disparities. By highlighting these districts and communities, we hope to provide a roadmap for those who are just getting started and for those who wish to do more. Start here.
SCHOOL MEALS APPLICATIONS OUTREACH TOOLKIT
This toolkit is intended for school districts to communicate with families about Free & Reduced-Price School Meals Applications, also known by other names like Household Applications for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals, and Free and Reduced-Price Meal Forms (FRP forms). See it here.
BREAKFAST IN THE CLASSROOM… NOT JUST FOR THE PANDEMIC!
*NC team favorite* Breakfast in the Classroom and similar innovative “Breakfast After the Bell” service models have been making an impact for a long time. Many schools tried them for the first time during pandemic restrictions, but their benefits apply to any school year. Learn more in this Educators’ FAQ.
SCHOOL MEALS: VALUABLE TO KIDS, SCHOOLS, AND COMMUNITIES
EDUCATOR’S GUIDE TO SCHOOL MEALS FUNDING
THE MANY BENEFITS OF SCHOOL MEALS
Academic… Social/Emotional… Health Outcomes… there are many benefits to school meals. Get a taste of all of them. Learn more.
BLOOM INTO YOUR POTENTIAL
In sync with the “Bloom Into Your Potential” theme at the 2022 SNA-NC Conference, we’ve laid out the stages of growth for school nutrition programs that want to reach their full potential this school year. Learn more.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Nutrition education helps children and families learn to make healthy food choices, and can help to promote healthy foods being served. Check out recipes, handouts, games, videos, coloring pages, and more. Start here.
GRANTS IMPACT MAP
Since schools first closed because of COVID-19 in March 2020, No Kid Hungry has granted more than $1.5 million in North Carolina alone to schools and other organizations fighting child hunger. The grants impact map shares some of those stories. See it here.
MORE RESOURCES
The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices has a wealth of resources on all topics child nutrition. Start here.
CONTACT US
No Kid Hungry North Carolina’s team at UNC stands ready to help. Contact us.