Brain Food: Student Meal Provision Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

While food is a basic necessity, many Missourians, especially children, often go hungry due to food affordability and accessibility. For example, in 2018, 13% of all Missourians and 15% of Missouri students were classified as food insecure. This means that those Missourians did not have “enough food for an active, healthy life.” Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic recession, even more of Missouri’s children are at risk of becoming food insecure, thus heightening the need to support them. This problem is compounded by widespread school closures, as a significant amount of Missouri students rely on their schools for regular, healthy meals. As a consequence of the global crisis, more than 125,000 additional Missouri children may become food insecure. In this policy brief, we summarize the issue of growing food insecurity among Missouri children, detailing the role of some of the federal programs that support them. As more families become food insecure in the wake of the pandemic, we also note evidence of the impact of hunger on critical student outcomes.