LETTER: Hungry kids struggle to achieve academic success

Published 9:58 am Thursday, October 24, 2024

I am a mom of four teenage boys. When Lincoln High started providing free school meals to all, it relieved a huge mental and financial load from my family. I cannot overstate how much teenage boys eat. I still send them with extra snacks, but having the confidence that they can have two full meals at school has been hugely helpful.

When my boys don’t have enough food, they complain of headaches and falling asleep in class. It breaks my heart to know that there are schools where kids still regularly experience that.

Food is an essential part of the school day and needs to be as reliable as buses and teachers. You never know what families might be going through, and restricting School Meals for All to low-income schools means that families like mine can slip through the cracks.

For us, I was starting a small business when my husband was laid off. We were working really hard and we could still only afford just enough rice and beans for dinner. I don’t know how we could have gotten through that time without knowing our boys would get a full meal during the school day.

There is no good reason that any kid in Oregon should have to skip a meal at school. We need to make sure that Oregon passes School Meals for All statewide, so that every parent can know their kid is getting the food they need to focus, learn and grow.

Rachel Ward

Southwest Portland