{"id":2575,"date":"2025-11-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetoptenwebhosts.com\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:46:14","slug":"schools-tackle-food-insecurity-as-snap-benefits-teeter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thetoptenwebhosts.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/02\/schools-tackle-food-insecurity-as-snap-benefits-teeter\/","title":{"rendered":"Schools tackle food insecurity as SNAP benefits teeter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Schools are bracing for the impact on their students as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) teeters on the brink of running out of money<\/a> amid the government shutdown.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

SNAP funds had originally been set to run out Saturday, but a federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration<\/a> to keep the program going so long as there are emergency funds available.<\/p>\n

The roughly $5.25 billion emergency fund, however, is\u00a0not enough to fully cover\u00a0food stamps for November, which will cost the government upward of $9 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officials in school districts with high rates of free or reduced meals told The Hill that worries about attendance, academic performance and behavior are mounting as nearly 42 million people<\/a> are expected to lose access to the government program that subsidizes food costs for low-income Americans.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some districts are starting food pantries or increasing the resources already provided to families, while others stress they cannot take on the responsibility of extra meals and are directing parents to local food banks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trevor Greene, superintendent of the Yakima School District in Washington, is expecting a \u201ctremendous\u201d blow to his district, which is in the 87th\u00a0percentile for free and reduced\u00a0lunches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs it now stands, we know that more of our students will be hungry in the\u00a0evenings,\u00a0but we do take some solace that\u00a0they’ll\u00a0come to school the next day and be able to access the meals that we have for both breakfast and lunch. But I\u00a0think\u00a0we’re\u00a0going to see that impact\u00a0resonate\u00a0throughout the community,\u201d Greene said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The food stamps funding has become one of the major pressure points in the monthlong government shutdown, with both sides warning that the hit to families would be immediate and substantial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we got to find some way to get help to 40 million people. This Saturday is going to be bad. It\u2019s going to be really bad,\u201d Sen.\u00a0Josh Hawley\u00a0(R-Mo.) told The Hill<\/a> before the judge’s ruling on Friday.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had previously announced<\/a> it would not be using billions of dollars in emergency SNAP money if the shutdown went past Oct. 31, saying the government closure was caused by congressional Democrats and thus isn’t a real emergency such as a natural disaster.<\/p>\n

A federal judge disagreed, ordering USDA to distribute the emergency funds “as soon as possible” and provide an update by Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSNAP benefits have never, until now, been terminated,\u201d\u00a0U.S. District Judge John McConnell\u00a0said at a hearing. \u201cAnd the\u00a0United States has in fact admitted that the contingency funds are appropriately used during a shutdown and that occurred in 2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now it is unclear when the money will finally run dry.<\/p>\n

Katie Law, principal at Wyoming’s Arapaho Charter High School, which gets money from Impact Aid that was immediately cut off when the government shut down, lamented things are \u201calready stretched thin\u201d at her school and\u00a0that\u00a0more kids\u00a0will need to be added\u00a0to more need-based programs\u00a0that \u201calready\u00a0are not able to provide those basic necessities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The worry is compounded by the connections between how much and what type of food a student eats\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0affect\u00a0on\u00a0academic performance and behavior in the classroom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Central Michigan University\u00a0found\u00a0chronically hungry students have poorer grades<\/a>, lower test\u00a0scores\u00a0and lower graduation rates. Hungry students also have higher absences and\u00a0discipline\u00a0rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report<\/a>\u00a0showing students who eat breakfast every day, eat vegetables and avoid soda are more likely to have higher grades.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to anticipate seeing concerns for students, behavior, concerns around these sorts of things, knowing that some of it may be stemming from not just food insecurity and coming in hungry is one thing, but also any other stress the household may be under,\u201d said\u00a0Sean Bulson, superintendent for\u00a0Harford\u00a0County Public Schools,\u00a0an area in Maryland whose families are more highly impacted by the shutdown because of the number of federal\u00a0employees\u00a0who have been furloughed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schools with high rates of reduced meals have already taken steps to ensure students don’t miss meals under their care, such as offering breakfast after the bell rings so students don’t have to get to school early for it or providing snacks for those who stay after school for sports or other activities. <\/p>\n

But the problem with missing meals would grow if the shutdown drags on into the holidays.<\/p>\n

“There’ll be a tremendous impact, as I said, because what we’ll see is the vacation period coming up of Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, summer, those become even more concerning for our student population that will not have SNAP benefits, or whose families won’t have SNAP benefits, because that will mean a longer period of time without access to meals,\u201d Greene said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Different districts have varying abilities to deal with this lapse while also grappling with concerns a prolonged shutdown could tighten their bottom line.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Multiple districts told The Hill they are expecting\u00a0increased\u00a0demand in food pantries operated\u00a0within their\u00a0school\u00a0buildings, with one saying their pantry, which regularly feeds 60 families, is likely to run out before Thanksgiving if SNAP benefits are frozen.<\/p>\n

Other food pantries ran in school buildings are increasing efforts to work with the local community amid the shutdown to handle the influx of individuals. Some school officials are creating entirely new resources for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re\u00a0going to begin working on a pantry, a school-setup pantry in collaboration with our PTA and our staff to get\u00a0weekly collections going of dried goods and other things.\u00a0… Part of what we want to work on is normalize just anyone being able to use the pantry,\u201d said Allison Persad, principal of\u00a0the Young Women\u2019s Leadership School of Astoria in Queens, N.Y.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The main position schools say they must take is one of lead communicator, fielding calls from parents about what to do and what resources are available. <\/p>\n

Districts have sent messages out to parents with lists of state and local resources to turn to, including one that has to accommodate a diverse population where 30 different languages are spoken at students’ homes.<\/p>\n

Districts are creating whole new parts of their websites, comprehensive Google Docs or dedicating an employee to communicate and talk with parents so the schools can fill in the gap for students in need when possible. <\/p>\n

Becky Pringle, president of the National Educators Association (NEA), the largest\u00a0teachers\u00a0union in the country, predicts teachers will wind up spending out of their pocket to support students by providing food and other classroom materials.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Throughout my entire career, I did what I could to stand in the gap for my kids, and so that necessarily meant I added to my family budget, food that I would take into school, materials and all of that that, that is what educators do,\u201d Pringle said, noting NEA had previously estimated educators would spend $500 out of pocket on school costs this year before the shutdown began.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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