Hungry minds and hungry bodies need to filled

More than half a million Ohio children are hungry some of the time, of whom 100,000 are hungry much of the time. Children who are malnourished can't learn as well as their well-fed counterparts. Neither can they participate in the kind of activities it takes a healthy child to perform. Thus, we urge all eligible agencies to go after the funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides for feeding those in need.
No child should start school in the morning -- or go to bed at night -- hungry. Ohio's Children's Hunger Alliance says that federal money for feeding programs is available if only families, communities and school districts realized their eligibility for such funds and went after it.
What people don't know can hurt them -- and their children.
The Children's Hunger Alliance has proposed six recommendations it feels can break the cycle of hunger -- all of which can be achieved through existing programs.
Three of those proposals would increase the number of low-income families participating in the food stamp program, and three are directed at expanding the number of low-income children participating in current federal child nutrition programs.
According to the most recent data, the percentage of children in poverty in Columbiana and Trumbull counties is well above the rate for the entire state. Mahoning County's child poverty rate is 15.4 percent; Ohio's rate is 15.2 percent. But not enough of those hungry kids are able to take advantage of the national school lunch and breakfast programs.
Meals for all: While nearly every Ohio school participates in the lunch program, only half that number also offer breakfast -- ranking Ohio 47th in the nation. But Provision 2 of the National School Lunch Act lets districts or buildings with a high percentage of eligible kids serve meals at no cost to all their children. Thus no child is stigmatized by poverty, fearing that all the other kids will know that he or she has to have a free or reduced price meal. And every child can come to class with a full tummy ready to learn.
The Alliance also wants to see meals and snacks served to children who participate in mandatory academic intervention programs. Feeding the hungry minds of underachieving children will be better accomplished if their hungry bodies are fed too. In fact, William A. Dolan, the Alliance's CEO, believes that more children might take part in tutoring programs if they or their parents knew that some nutrition would be offered as well.
Hunger should not be a problem in this land of wealth and abundance, but it is. Organizations like the Children's Hunger Alliance should be commended for their work on behalf of Ohio's children.