Latest Resources and Research
Kids can't learn if they're hungry. From meeting a student's basic needs, to giving them the edge they need to succeed academically, school meals are a vital part of the educational day.
School nutrition teams can find the latest resources and research from No Kid Hungry below.
BLOOM INTO YOUR POTENTIAL
In sync with the "Bloom Into Your Potential" theme at the 2022 SNA-NC Conference, we've laid out the stages of growth for school nutrition programs that want to reach their full potential this school year. Learn more.
SUMMER RESOURCES
Find online toolkits to help promote your summer nutrition programs, along with tools to help families find meals, information for stakeholders, and more. Learn more.
HOW SCHOOL MEALS CAN SUPPORT SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SCHOOL CLIMATES
Expanding participation in your school meals program can nourish students while simultaneously building social-emotional learning skills. Learn more.
A STUDY ON CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM AND BREAKFAST AFTER THE BELL
Schools are facing a crisis of chronic absenteeism: Before the pandemic, nearly 8 million students are missing at least three weeks of the school year. Chronic absenteeism can lead to lower academic achievement, greater risk of dropping out, and worse employment prospects.
In 2019, the No Kid Hungry campaign commissioned a study to examine whether serving breakfast after the bell can reduce chronic absenteeism. The study found that Breakfast After the Bell programs can help reduce chronic absenteeism and improve other student outcomes. Learn more.
LETTER FROM STATE SUPERINTENDENT CATHERINE TRUITT AND THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: EXTEND CHILD NUTRITION WAIVERS
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt and the NC State Board of Education are among the many advocating for U.S. Congress to grant USDA the ability to extend critical child nutrition waivers.
- See the letters here and here.
- See the EducationNC.org article about the letter.
- See the opinion piece by Carolina Hunger Initiative Director Lou Anne Crumpler about no-cost healthy school meals for all.
STRATEGIES FOR WORKING THROUGH LABOR SHORTAGE CHALLENGES
This resource offers best practices used by school kitchens across the nation to recruit and retain staff. Practices such as recruiting volunteers, expanding staff benefits, utilizing creative logistics, and advertising at every opportunity! Learn more.
TIPS FOR NAVIGATING SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS
This one-page resource provides tips and ideas for navigating supply chain disruptions related to driver, food, and equipment shortages. Learn more.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Nutrition education helps children and families learn to make healthy food choices, and can help to promote healthy foods being served. Check out recipes, handouts, games, videos, coloring pages, and more. Start here.
COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISION
Is your school or district taking advantage of one of the best tools available for increasing access to free meals for students? Make sure you know the facts about the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, including how it does — and does not — impact Title 1 funding. Learn more.
GRANTS IMPACT MAP
Since schools first closed because of COVID-19 in March 2020, No Kid Hungry has granted more than $1.5 million in North Carolina alone to schools and other organizations fighting child hunger. The grants impact map shares some of those stories. See it here.
COMING SOON:
- Free & Reduced Outreach Toolkit
- Increasing Participation Through Alternative Meal Service Models
MORE RESOURCES
The No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices has a wealth of resources on all topics child nutrition. Start here.
CONTACT US
No Kid Hungry North Carolina's team at UNC stands ready to help. Contact us.