Educators Scramble to Support Students Amid Hunger Crisis

For Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) students, Nov. 12 was always going to be a nerve-wracking time: Report Card Day.

Yet for the nearly 25% of CMS students who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), November has seen more pressing matters arise as families have had to consider where their next meal will come from amidst a government shutdown that has left them behind.

After Congress failed to agree on federal funding allocations for the new fiscal year on Oct. 1 — resulting in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agencies that the government would discontinue allocation of benefits for the program beginning Nov. 1. In North Carolina, SNAP supports more than 621,000 children who automatically qualify for free school meals.

What’s followed since SNAP benefits were cut has been a string of court rulings and callbacks that have left local leaders, community organizers and educators scrambling to ensure that our state’s most vulnerable populations including children remain fed.

CMS educator Justin Parmenter pointed out to Queen City Nerve that it’s not just students who are affected; many educators and other CMS staff rely on SNAP for financial assistance.

While CMS has assured families that the district will continue its school meals program uninterrupted, including free or reduced-priced meals for eligible students, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll remain fed outside of school.

As a member of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), Parmenter and others have been on the front lines of the fight to ensure that neither students nor staff are left to go to bed hungry each night.

“A year ago I probably wouldn’t have even believed this was possible,” told Queen City Nerve of the mess that has resulted from the extended government shutdown. “But here we are.”

How we got here

On Oct. 28, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, along with 22 other attorneys general and three governors, filed a lawsuit against the USDA for unlawfully suspending SNAP. Following a court ruling that the USDA must use contingency funds to restore reduced SNAP benefits, North Carolina began offering partial benefits for November.

After issuing partial benefits on Nov. 7, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) was on track to issue the remaining full benefits over the following weekend. However, a decision by the White House to appeal a court ruling forced NCDHHS to pause its payout.

In a release that Friday announcing the dispersal of full SNAP benefits, US Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte said North Carolina SNAP recipients would be issued 65% of their regular SNAP benefits immediately with an additional 35% expected to come as soon as the weekend. Her statement came before the issuance of that final 35% was halted.

“After weeks of fighting the Trump administration’s unlawful actions, help is finally on the way for 1.4 million North Carolinians who rely on SNAP to make the ends meet, including 34,000 households in my district,” Adams wrote.

“This funding was only administered because Democrats sued the USDA to release SNAP benefits and stop holding the American people hostage,” she continued. “The Trump administration has made it clear that they have no desire to administer SNAP and will choose to let people go hungry unless they are forced to do so. This is far from the last fight SNAP faces and Democrats are ready to defend the lifesaving program because in the richest country in the world, no one should go to bed hungry.”

In a Nov. 5 press release, the NCAE urged the Trump administration to fulfill its duty to protect families in need by fully funding November benefits, noting that the pause affects hundreds of thousands of children, veterans, individuals with disabilities and working families who rely on the program to put food on the table.

“The court decisions make clear that the administration has a duty to protect families in need, not use them as leverage in political disputes,” the statement read. “By not funding SNAP in its entirety, the Administration is harming millions of Americans — including 1.4 million North Carolinians — by increasing food insecurity, straining family budgets, and disrupting communities across the state.

How food assistance programs impact educators and students

As a federal initiative that helps families, children and communities address food insecurity, SNAP plays a critical role in schools.

Under normal conditions, SNAP is one of the most effective anti-hunger programs in the US, according to the Food Research and Action Center. The program generates up to $1.80 in economic activity for every $1 spent, reaching 42 million people.

Of the 1.4 million North Carolinians that rely on SNAP benefits, an estimated 138,500 reside in Mecklenburg County, according to the county.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) district, more than half of all schools are Title I, meaning the majority of students live near or below the poverty line, the nonprofit organization Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg reports on its website.

If at least 65-70% of a school’s students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, that school qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students.

Eligibility is determined by data-matching households that receive SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid and/or are home to children who are certified as homeless or migrants, enrolled in Head Start, or in foster care. Of the 186 schools in the CMS district, 115 participate in CEP.

On Oct. 31, the CMS Board of Education and Superintendent Crystal Hill issued a statement to assure CMS families that students will continue to have access to meals at school each day despite the government shutdown.

CMS is also providing students and families with additional support like counseling and student wellness support services. If a school doesn’t participate in the CEP program, families can still apply for free or reduced-priced meals on a rolling basis.

“At CMS, we care deeply about every student and family we serve – and we want our students and their families to know that support is always available,” the statement read. “We are one school district – one community – and together, we will continue to provide our students with Endless Possibilities.”

There are more than 400,000 children in North Carolina who rely on SNAP benefits, according to NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly. When those children cannot access food in their homes, they rely on school-provided meals for breakfast and lunch.

As the shutdown continues and children and families are unable to access their SNAP benefits, the families who are currently in the process of applying for free and reduced lunch at school will see delays in application approval for those programs, she said.

Read more: Need Food Assistance? Where to Get Help in Charlotte After SNAP Funding Cuts

CEP schools may also run out of funds because of the federal government’s interruption, with some at risk of shutting down altogether. Should that happen, schools will have to find other ways to support students and ensure they have access to breakfast and lunch on a regular basis.

“It’s those interruptions of those programs that then impact a student’s ability to focus on academics, to learn, to not worry about where their next meal is coming from throughout the day, which would have subsequent effects on their performance in schools,” Kelly said.

The students aren’t the only ones facing food insecurity.

“We also have employees who receive SNAP benefits based on their income,” Parmenter said. “This is not something that’s limited only to students. It’s something that can impact people that work for our district as well.”

When people’s basic needs aren’t met, they’re unable to engage in the learning process, both on the educator and student side, Parmenter said.

“When people are focused on their hunger, when children are focused on feelings of hunger, it’s impossible for them to concentrate on learning,” he said.

It’s clear to Parmenter when students are unable to focus on learning and he believes that schools will see more impacts on development in the classroom as the shutdown goes on.

”I think it’s going to become more and more obvious who is suffering from the inaction of the federal government.”

What happens now?

As this story is going to print, Congress appeared to be nearing a deal that would end the government shutdown. As it goes live online, it’s looking all the more certain that SNAP benefits will resume by the end of the week, though specific schedules will vary by state.

All will not go “back to normal” when the shutdown is resolved, however. Before the government abruptly cut off access to SNAP benefits for 1.4 million North Carolinians, reporting already showed that hunger in North Carolina was at its highest point in a generation.

The Trump administration has cut $30 million in federal funding for food banks and schools across the state to purchase food from local farms. At the state level, the $9.1-million allocation of funding that allows food banks to purchase locally grown fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat has been held up while Republican infighting delays the passage of a state budget.

Food assistance programs will continue to face deep federal funding cuts thanks to President Trump’s so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, which was passed in July and called for a $186 billion cut in SNAP benefits by 2035.

Read more: Farmers, Hunger Relief Orgs Call for Budget Passage at Critical Time for NC Families

Parmenter admitted that it’s unclear what the need will be going forward from an educational standpoint. The dizzying pace that decisions are being made makes it difficult to keep up with.

”I think we just have to kind of wait and see how it plays out and what the school district and local county government has to do in order to try and prevent people from going hungry,” he said. “Which, again … hearing those words come out of my mouth is shocking still to me that we’re in a position of having to try desperately to prevent people from going hungry over politics.”

The actions that NC schools have taken in the wake of the government shutdown, however, is a possible solution to how schools will continue to support students and families who are facing food insecurity once it is lifted, Kelly said.

NCAE’s coalition of educators have seen increased collaboration and networking with food banks across the state’s counties and regions, she said.

“We are seeing other community organizations and entities step up to provide food distribution times and days that allow our families to have access to shelf-stable items and meals that will help sustain them,” Kelly said. “And then, of course, we’re seeing communities pull together and do mutual aid fundraising.”

Local restaurants and businesses have even started offering meal packages at discounted rates so that families are able to stretch their funds in ways that will sustain them through this time, she said.

Read more: Trump Order Halts Full Dispersal of SNAP Benefits in NC

Similar efforts are occurring on a broader level across the state. On Nov. 7, Gov. Josh Stein reported that, with the help of private partners, the state had raised nearly $22 million to support local food banks across North Carolina.

“This is about a basic necessity – food – being caught in the middle of political chaos,” Stein said. “The hard-working people and families who rely on SNAP benefits deserve certainty, not confusion about whether they’ll be able to put meals on the table this weekend and the rest of the month.”

According to Kelly, NCAE’s greatest tool is its advocacy as educators and as communities to ask the state legislature to do more to increase those efforts.

Read more: Looming SNAP Pause Will Impact 1.4M North Carolinians in Urban and Rural Counties Alike

While she appreciates NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson and NC representatives in Congress’ efforts to push the Trump administration to fully restore SNAP benefits, a large sum of duty falls on federal legislators.

“It is the responsibility of our federal government to make sure that they are providing for our citizens, whether it’s here in North Carolina or across the country,” Kelly said. “And we implore them, and it is part of their duty as elected officials to be responsible for the constituents in their care.

“We’re talking about families and children in our communities and they should not be commodities in a political fight when we are trying to ensure that every student comes to school fed, that no family goes hungry and that working families have what they need in order to grow and thrive in our state.”