A perennial favorite science project from preschool on up is the “seed experiment”: A child plants identical seeds in two pots. She places the first pot inside a dark cupboard and leaves it there, and she puts the second one in a sunny spot and waters it every day. She waits to see what will happen. It’s very easy for even the youngest children to figure out that their seedlings need the basics -- sunlight and water -- if they are going to survive and thrive.
The same is true for children, and “the basics” during children’s earliest years can have long-lasting effects. Arloc Sherman, senior researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and one of the contributors to the new Harvard Education Press book Improving the Odds for America’s Children, put it this way:
“I think sometimes we forget to say how important for children’s futures the day-to-day basic assistance of food, clothing, shelter is... We’ve had help from the research community recently, striking studies that help make the case that when you just provide the basics, that’s one key cornerstone for children’s future success. So it’s not just that we’re meeting an important need—which would be enough in itself—but we’re also providing for opening future doors of opportunity.”
He pointed to a 2012 study on the long-term effects of what began as the food stamps program. Researchers went back to the earliest days of the program, when it was rolled out county by county to identify children who had access to food stamps in early childhood and whose mothers had access during their pregnancies. They tracked their progress from the 1960s and 1970s into adulthood, comparing them to similar children who didn’t have access to food stamps. The results showed the power of nutrition: The children who had access to food stamps were less likely to have stunted growth, be obese, or have heart disease as adults -- and the positive effects weren’t just health-related. One of the largest differences was that children in families with food stamps were 18 percent more likely to graduate from high school.
This echoes other studies on the positive effects of federal nutrition programs that found needy children who received food assistance before age five were in better health as adults and girls who received food assistance were more likely to complete more schooling, earn more money, and not rely on safety net programs as adults. Putting food on children’s plates helps build healthy minds and bodies today and helps set children up for better futures later. And the benefits don’t end there. Better graduation rates mean better jobs with higher salaries with cascading benefits to the community, the national economy, and the next generation.
The case for providing the basics for all children in America is hard to refute. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.2 million children were lifted out of poverty by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in 2012. Yet right now we are fast approaching a critical time for hungry children: summer vacation. School-based federal nutrition programs have proved to be a lifeline for needy children. In fiscal year 2012 more than 21 million children received free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program and nearly 11 million children received free and reduced price breakfast. Hunger doesn’t end on the last day of school -- yet only 11 percent of the number of children who relied on those lunches during the school year received meals through the Summer Food Service Program. Even though the program is 100 percent federally funded and can create desperately needed jobs for cafeteria workers and others during the summer months, many states and communities have created needless bureaucratic hurdles to establishing summer feeding sites resulting in not nearly enough sites to serve all eligible children. But it’s not too late to find out how you can help -- or how children you know can participate.
The Children’s Defense Fund is encouraging CDF Freedom Schools® partners to use the summer feeding program to provide nutritious meals and snacks for children attending summer CDF Freedom Schools programs. The USDA, which administers the summer feeding program, says there are many ways individuals and organizations can get involved: “You can serve the meals, promote the program, provide transportation, volunteer at summer food sites, or even go out and find sponsors.” The USDA’s “Summer Meals Toolkit” provides information on sponsors, sites, links to state agencies, and much more, or call 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE or use this online map. If there are not enough summer feeding sites in your community, ask why not. Help make sure children in your community are getting the basics and that there are no hungry children in your community this summer.
Many plants blossom and thrive all summer long. Children should be able to do the same.
After working with Freedom Schools, I know that the children I’ve worked with daily are getting fed during the summer because of the program providing breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Many times at our site, we would even send food home in the evenings. Where I currently teach, many of my students eat breakfast, lunch, and if they are a part of the after-school program, dinner, at school. There are many families that have benefited from the food drive we held during the year, so I wonder how many of the families need those resources during the summer. I’m definitely going to use the “Summer Meals Toolkit” link in the article to get information out to parents and families of my school.
ReplyDeleteThere's no question that programs like this are beneficial to all who participate. My church offered VBS one summer to all kids who came in to partake in our free lunches. We were able to spread our message while fulfilling a practical need, like Jesus. So I'm totally in support for assistance programs, but I just can't help but ask how do we work to effectively eliminate the necessity for such a program. The bible explains that the poor will be with us always, but that does not suggest a whole subculture of poverty. What can we do to empower people to live lives that don't require governmental policies to handle basic needs.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I return to Knoxville to visit my family for the weekend I always leave not feeling like myself. Yes, they are crazy and make my nerves bad but it is mostly because of the drastic food change, housing environment that I am not use to and limited opportunity to be active. See, living by myself I have full control of what I eat, how/where I sleep and being active is a part of my daily schedule. However, that was not the case when I live with my family. I say all of this because I watch my niece and nephew (and my entire family) stuck in this unhealthy life style simply because it is the norm. My family, and how I was would be considered the plant that does not get any sunlight.
ReplyDeleteThis concept of basic needs is something that seriously needs to be explored. I can testify to the fact that if I am hungry the chances of me thinking about anything other than eating are slim to NONE! Imagine if I knew for a fact when I went home I still would not be able to eat much. Unfortunately this is the harsh reality that most of our students live. I have literally saw children throw a whole fit about not being able to eat breakfast later to find out that his mother is struggling to feed her family. It is sad but true we must continue to ensure that our children have nutritious meals. I love Freedom School because our site is a part of the USDA summer feeding program and we open breakfast and lunch up to children in the community to eat during the summer. So not only are we feeding our scholars but other children in the community as well. I am so thankful for Arloc Sherman and his efforts to make this information known to the general public
ReplyDelete“I think sometimes we forget to say how important for children’s futures the day-to-day basic assistance of food, clothing, shelter is... We’ve had help from the research community recently, striking studies that help make the case that when you just provide the basics, that’s one key cornerstone for children’s future success."
ReplyDeleteThis hits dead on with a theory that I have been exploring. I think a lot of underprivileged kids suffer educational because their home environment does not align with academic success. There are plenty of kids who lack motivation, struggle with behavior, and scores low on academic testing. I am starting to think that this has a lot to do with their home environment and the lack of basic needs. If kids had a refreshing atmosphere to go home to that supported their education, I am willing to bet that teachers would see an increase in positive behavior and academic success.
This is such a great parallel that any small child can understand yet, the issue of hunger still exists for many of our children. Reading about the study that was done on children in households that received food stamp benefits versus those who didn’t makes me grateful that my site participates in the summer feeding program. I know the situations of our kids and I have been to some of their homes. It hurts to say that some of them honestly would not be eating much, if at all when they are home. You can even tell when meals are served how much of a relief some children feel from receiving a meal. As painful as it is to know, I’m more than glad that we are able to fill in over the summer for the meals that provided at school during the year. The added bonus is that children who aren’t in the Freedom Schools program are welcome to come for meals as well!
ReplyDeleteI love this analogy! Comparing the traditional seed experiment to the lives and development of our children places everything into perspective. We cannot expect our children to be great if we are not providing them with the basic things that they need to grow. Everything plays a part in the positive development of our youth. Even as educators, it is important for us to be “expert scientist.” We must be consistent in caring for our seeds and keeping an accurate account of growth and physical changes. For when we don’t, our children become untreated seeds, lacking the necessary tools needed to grow into healthy plants; they became the seed in the cupboard, receiving neither sunlight nor water. We must make sure our young have their basic needs met. Poverty, homelessness, hunger etc. are serious issues plaguing our country. How can we entertain any other issue before we address the lack of basic necessities plaguing children in America?
DeleteFood should be a non-negotiable resource for everyone, but especially for children. Without proper and healthy food, the brain has no way to maintain its energy and functioning capabilities, and it all goes downhill from there. Too often, cafeteria lunches have been a running joke because of how bad they tasted. The worst part of all is that there are some children who do not even get to joke about how bad it is, because they cannot afford lunch. While most schools and organizations such as CDF Freedom Schools provide their students with at least breakfast and lunch, it is the consistency of those meals being delivered throughout the nation which matters most. The best breakthrough in this situation would be for the stigma that comes from food stamps to be eradicated. Not all unemployed or low-income earning people are lazy, in fact, it is often quite the opposite. It is often those who do the most manual, mental and physical work who make the least money, and for this reason, the system must be reversed.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that children should also be able to blossom and thrive over the summer. Since working at an elementary school for the first time this school year, my perspective for the needs of children has enhanced. I did not realize until working at a school how important breakfast and lunch is to children. The meals make a difference in how well they are able to focus and learn throughout the day and thus develop academically. With good nutrition they are also more able to think clearly and make good choices for themselves and their peers. My hope for children this summer is that they all become enrolled in and attend a program where they will be fed nutritious meals daily so that not only will they have healthy bodies, but also healthy minds.
ReplyDeleteIt is both shameful and a disaster that we live in an age where, in a nation of plenty, very many children needlessly struggle to have their most basic needs met. Yet we find that corporate profits continue to skyrocket and military defense priorities still dwarf the combined spending of many wealthy nations. Until reading this article, I had never really considered the nutritional impact of summer vacations on those students who receive Free And Reduced meals. The menu options may not be the most wholesome, but it represents a very important lifeline for children and their families. Just as in the case of the seed experiment, even a child knows that the playing field of success and economic mobility is rigged in favor of those children who are fortunate to have all their most important needs met. Nutrition is a necessity. When one considers the millions of children who have limited access to good food, one clearly sees the root causes of many of the widespread health crises that continue to plague minority communities.
ReplyDeleteMany plants blossom and thrive all summer long. Children should be able to do the same.
ReplyDeleteThe statement above is very true! I was once that troubled scholar that school teachers use to right off and say that I would never be able to thrive in a classroom and academically be successful. It took a Freedom School SLI to plant that seed and not get discouraged when the results did not show immediately. Ten years later, I became an SLI and that very intern that planted that seed in me, was my site coordinator. This is a testament to the "seed experiment."
As an educator expectation is everything! What you expect from your students will dictate what they become. If you expect a student to never do well you will treat them that way and they will behave that way. But if you expect a child to be great, despite the issues they may face or the struggles you face with the child they will rise to your expectations!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the seat experiment because it really laid things out clearly. Three years ago as I served as an SLI and my Washington DC freedom school site I noticed how excited our students were about breakfast and lunch. Not only because it was time to eat but we really got to some great conversations with students. Students compared their meals to whether eating at home which sparked up certain conversations and other kids had other complaints about the food. Either way it was really easy to tell which kids were grateful for a meal in which kids eat pretty good at home. And of course 80% of the kids with the students who were really happy for a meal and do those conversations Wieding they opened up their minds and hearts and informed me and other as allies about their home situations is far as food and the stories we heard we're just sad so the importance of a meal especially during education can almost make or break the child.
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