Student hunger looks different in every school district in Ohio, but legislative intervention could resolve the issues, from the funding gap to the stigma attached to meal support, advocates say.

Districts across the state have held fundraisers to pay down unpaid meal accounts, and alternatives to hot meals are available, often in the form of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other cold offerings.

But combatting student hunger often comes with a “pride gap” – those that are too embarrassed to ask for help – and students who would rather not eat than face a cafeteria of students who will be able to identify their free or reduced lunch status.

Schools do what they can to make sure food is available for students, but they can’t eliminate that stigma that puts kids into “categories.”

“It still doesn’t eliminate that category of kids, it doesn’t capture hunger in totality,” said Alexis Weber, food service director for Austintown Local Schools. “Because someone’s income might not directly indicate whether or not a student is hungry.”

Food insecurity is very much a part of the landscape in Ohio, with Feeding America ranking Ohio 13th in percentage of children with food insecurity. The Children’s Defense Fund Ohio found that 1 in 6 children in Ohio “lives in a household that faces hunger,” yet 1 in 3 children in food insecure households who are eligible for the school meals program don’t participate for fear of judgment.

“The program inherently labels and puts kids into categories,” CDF-Ohio stated in a white paper on student hunger. “The stigma felt by students that the program is only for low-income kids causes many children not to participate.”

Participation in the school meals has been linked to “positive educational and health outcomes for children,” according to CDF-Ohio, and students are less likely to have “nutrient inadequacies.”

Read the full article about student hunger by Susan Tebben at The 74.