Childhood Hunger

According to the USDA, 11 million American children live in “food insecure households” – families without reliable access to affordable, healthy and nutritious meals. Today, projections show that number could increase to 18 million due to the pandemic. 1 in 4 children are in danger of facing food insecurity (currently it’s 1 in 6) and 25% of children in households may soon have to rely exclusively on hunger relief organizations to make ends meet.

Children facing hunger in school are more likely to:

• Repeat a grade in elementary school
• Experience developmental impairments in areas like language and motor skills
• Have more social and behavioral problems

A child will not be denied a school lunch in the state of Washington, but if a family is not participating in a free program, students will incur a lunch debt. School districts usually have to collect the funds from financially strapped families. The TwinStar Community Foundation has stepped in to donate a total of $150,500 since 2017 to erase lunch debt at elementary schools. That’s approximately 90,000 lunches!

We believe that well-fed kids create well-fed minds. We are working to end hunger in school-aged kids in our communities. Please join us to help pay down school lunch debt for children in need.