Survey Finds Half of Teachers Expect to Buy Food for Students This School Year
Half of educators expect to purchase food for their students this school year, according to a recent survey from the nation’s second-largest teachers union.
The American Federation of Teachers published the findings Sept. 10 after research company Grow Progress surveyed 705 members about classroom expenses and federal education policy changes. The union also collected personal insights about student hunger, an issue that previous studies have found is prominent at school and could be impacted by impending government cuts to food assistance programs.
“Every year, public school educators dig into their own pockets to help their students get the education they deserve,” union President Randi Weingarten said in a press release. “They pay for books, decorations, paper, pencils and, yes, even food.”
Families that deal with food insecurity can’t afford enough groceries to meet their needs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The most recent data available shows that nearly 18% of households with children across the nation struggled with food insecurity in 2023.
Research published by the national nonprofit No Kid Hungry in March found that 92% of teachers have taken some type of action to address student hunger at school. Nearly half personally provide food in the classroom, while 29% have purchased food for students to eat outside of class.
“Families are struggling to put food on the table for their kids for a variety of reasons, whether that’s the rising cost of food or the worsening job market or limited resources,” said Sara Steely, a No Kid Hungry spokesperson. “The entire education system is stronger when kids are well-fed, and teachers are up against a lot — food shouldn’t be something they have to think about.”
In the AFT survey, a Florida union member said students need food at school because of a lack of it at home, while another teacher in Kentucky said many students “are starving because of lack of food availability.”
Ann Walkup, a Rhode Island physics teacher and AFT member, said she and many educators at her high school buy food like granola bars, crackers and water bottles.
“Most of us keep some sort of stash somewhere,” she told The 74. “There are definitely some teachers who have a situation like [food insecurity] with some of their students. We’re supposed to refer them to the office, and there’s a system the school has to support them, but admittedly, it is just easier to be like, ‘Hey, I’ve got an extra granola bar.’ ”
Steely said child hunger is about to become even more complicated with the recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about 42 million people afford groceries each month. In July, the Trump administration approved a tax bill that will slash about $186 billion from SNAP funding through 2034.
Once the SNAP cuts are fully implemented, roughly 2.4 million people are projected to lose food stamp benefits in an average month, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
Students automatically qualify for free or reduced-price lunch if their families receive SNAP benefits, Steely said. Parents will have to return to filling out paperwork to get their children free meals at school — something that is an obstacle for people who have language barriers or are embarrassed about their income, she said.
“As we see these SNAP and Medicaid cuts play out and the impacts to free school meals access, I could see that burden falling to the teachers,” Steely said.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, told The 74 that student hunger continues to be a critical issue for members of the nation’s largest teachers union. She said schools already felt the impact of cuts this spring, when the USDA eliminated roughly $660 million in funding for districts and child care facilities to purchase food from local farms for student meals.
“We’re seeing more kids coming to school hungry,” she said. “We spend money buying snacks, we send things home to families in book bags. We do that because, at least as educators, we can’t look away.”
This story was produced by The 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America.