Child hunger and learning: Perspectives from Delaware educators

May 21, 2025

Whether in schools close to the Delaware beaches or urban settings like Wilmington, many students in Delaware don’t have reliable access to good food, and educators say that can affect their learning and behavior. 

Take Milton Elementary School in the Cape Henlopen School District, for example, an area near many upscale beach homes. 

“Food insecurity is something that we see often,” said school social worker Gloria Ho, who noted there are pockets of very low income in the area, and high housing costs can put a strain on families. “The disparities are so great,” she said. 

For these kids, school is harder

Numerous studies and academic reviews associate issues in school with food insecurity, although a complicated brew of factors like home life and the effects of poverty make it hard to tease out a direct cause. One study published in the Economics of Education Review in 2018 found that math test scores dropped at the time of the month when SNAP food benefits typically run out. 

School staff can tell you the same thing from their daily experience. At Pritchett Academy in the city of Wilmington (formerly Bancroft Elementary), many students come from families dealing with poverty and homelessness. Not getting enough food can lead to behavior issues, falling asleep in class, and a lack of focus, especially on Monday mornings after the weekend at home, said Michelle Suchyj, a gifted and talented teacher at the school. 

“I’m sure you’ve experienced being hangry as an adult. It’s twice as bad when you’re a small person, and you’re being asked to sit calmly and learn, and all you’re focusing on is your stomach growling and grumbling,” she said. 

Schools and nonprofits fill the gaps

Her school, like Milton Elementary downstate, offers free breakfast and lunch, but kids may not always make it to breakfast, Suchyj pointed out, or breakfast may not tide them over as long when they arrive at school with less in their stomachs than children who have snacks or solid meals at home. 

At Ho’s school, too, teachers watch for the signs. “Hunger isn’t always visible,” she said. But educators notice if a child rushes in on Monday morning to get to the front of the breakfast line, asks for extra food at lunchtime, or puts their head down on the desk during class.  

Public schools step into the gap as much as they can, becoming, in essence, part of the food pantry system. In many cases, they even offer food during the summer to low-income families. 

Partnerships with the Food Bank of Delaware have been very important, Ho said. Her school and Pritchett Academy both participate in the school Backpack Program, which allows students to take home a backpack with food to help cover weekends and school breaks when they don’t have access to free meals. 

The Food Bank also works with schools like Milton Elementary to offer a food pantry at the school itself, where parents can access food if they need it. 

“Our staff and teachers are really grateful for programs like the Backpack Program and the school food pantry,” Ho said. “It alleviates their significant concern.”  

Milton Elementary has run the Backpack Program since 2009 and the on-site food bank since 2019, according to Ho. In an average school year, about 75 to 100 or more students use the backpacks. “There’s no income requirements … some parents, for whatever reason, (are) not comfortable sharing why they need the food, and that’s absolutely fine,” she said. 

Last year, almost half of Pritchett Academy’s students used the Backpack Program, Suchyj said. The school also works with other groups like the Chesapeake Girl Scout Council, which does regular drives to supply students with healthy afternoon snacks that they can eat right before leaving school in the afternoon. 

While nearly 40,000 children are exposed to food insecurity in Delaware, according to Feeding America, school programs like these help blunt the impact. 

Some barriers remain

The effort to provide free meals “has certainly reduced hunger and food insecurity for children,” said Allison Karpyn, a professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Delaware, in an email. 

However, it’s a misconception that all students who qualify for free meals even get them, Ho said. At some schools, students must enroll, and language barriers or reluctance to face the stigma of asking for help may get in the way.  

Also, “Children who come from immigrant families in schools that do not have universal free feeding are going to be at increasingly high risk because of concerns for registering a person’s name in a national system,” Karpyn wrote, adding, “Fear is very high right now.”

Delaware lawmakers have also been weighing measures to strengthen access to food in schools, with former Gov. John Carney signing a bill in 2024 to expand free meals to students who qualify for reduced-price meals, which the state estimated would help an extra 2,500 students. Some lawmakers are advocating for free breakfasts and lunches for all students in the state, Spotlight Delaware reports, but that idea has gotten some bipartisan pushback over concerns about expense. 

Delaware educators want the best for their students

Teachers do what they can to augment where these programs fall short. 

Often, Ho said, “I walk into a classroom, and you see them giving (students) granola bars and snacks from their own personal supply that they bought with their own money.”

Suchyj knows exactly what these kids are going through, because she’s experienced both sides — living in poverty as the daughter of immigrants, but then experiencing economic security as a teenager after her family found firmer financial footing. She keeps filling snacks on hand to make sure students have something in their stomachs as they leave the building in the afternoon. 

“Providing them nutritious food is essential to their well-being and stability, and we just want to ensure we’re providing a supportive environment where their basic needs are being met,” Ho said. 

Learn more about the Food Bank of Delaware’s backpack program and how you can help meet the needs of children in Delaware schools.