Children who are not attending school in person are less likely to have access to nutritious meals provided by the school district, usually free or discounted. | stock photo
Children who are not attending school in person are less likely to have access to nutritious meals provided by the school district, usually free or discounted. | stock photo
In a normal year, the Detroit school system is able to supply students across the district with much-needed nutrition through discounted and free meals at school.
However, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have meant that school meal consumption in Detroit has decreased by a staggering amount, which leaves school and public health officials worried about whether children in the district are getting sufficient nutrition without the ability to take advantage of the school lunch program.
During a typical school year, the district is able to provide almost 70,000 meals a day. However, only about 16,000 meals a day are currently leaving the kitchen and being given to children in the district, according to Chalkbeat Detroit.
This leaves an obvious gaping hole that is concerning public health officials. Now that all face-to-face learning has been put on hold to slow the spread of the pandemic, public health officials are even more worried. They expect the daily count of meals to drop to 4,000, a huge difference from the peak in other years.
These drastically reduced numbers are even more surprising when you acknowledge the fact that school employees have done everything in their power to ensure that the meals are accessible to students and families.
In Detroit, this is even more of a problem. About 90% of students in the Detroit district are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, which means that many children in the area get significant nutrition from these meals. Without them, many fear that children will be more prone to hunger, obesity and poor general health. Studies show that children in these situations offer suffer from the lack of access to nutritious meals.
Though the issue is worsening in Detroit, the city is certainly not alone in its concern. Cities all around the country are struggling with the same problem and having the same concerns about the long-term health effects of the children that are at risk. District officials are optimistic that parents are able to find other sources of food, with welfare programs broadening their scope to accommodate those affected by the pandemic, but the worry remains.
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