Editor’s Note:  As kids head back to school, we shift our focus from summer meals to ensuring that kids are getting the proper nutrition they need before the school day begins. With school back in session, teachers are on the front lines of America’s childhood hunger crisis, witnessing the effects of hunger on a child’s development every day. To raise awareness of this issue, we surveyed teachers about their experiences with hunger in the classroom. You can explore the findings at NoKidHungry.org/Teachers.

In the lead-up to the release of “Hunger in Our Schools,” Share Our Strength’s Teachers Report, we spoke to thousands of teachers about their personal experiences with hunger in their classrooms. They’re comments were eye-opening.  Here’s what one 6th grade teacher shared:  

“I had one student, a 6th grade boy, come in with a bad headache and stomach pains.  He began to cry and I thought he was sick.  As I talked with him he said he did not have dinner the night before and he didn't sleep well because his baby sister was crying.  His entire family shares one bedroom in a home they share with 3 other families.  Since he had been up most of the night he overslept and did not get to school in time for breakfast.  This was a 6th grade boy, 11 years old.  One meal in 24 hours isn’t enough.”

Learn more, and what you can do to help, at NoKidHungry.org/Teachers .