Survey: Teachers report students "regularly" come to school hungry

By Kevin Simpson - The Denver Post

When a handful of students consistently showed up for school lethargic and unfocused, second-grade teacher Robin Sutherland discreetly posed a question: Did you have breakfast?

Soon after, she began stopping off at the grocery store to pick up nutrition-packed drinks, or peanut butter and crackers — anything that might give them a protein kick-start.

"Their scores increased, their focus got better," said Sutherland, who oversees mostly low-income students at Queen Palmer Elementary in Colorado Springs. "It really helped them academically."

Eventually, she found a church group willing to share the cost — and now a school-wide program takes care of all students who may not get a nutritious breakfast at home.

More than half of Colorado teachers dip into their own pockets to buy food for hungry students, and about one-third spend up to $50 a month, according to a survey released Thursday by a nonprofit group seeking to end childhood hunger.

Read the rest of the story at this link to the Denver Post website.

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