Why Teachers Are the Real Food Heroes in Schools Today — Hungry Schools

Very early on in Mary Katherine Trigg's career as a teacher in rural Jackson, Louisiana, she noticed that a few of her kindergarteners were stealing and hoarding snacks from the lunch room. When she eventually sat down with the 5-year-olds to talk about their stashes, their intentions became clear: They wanted to make sure that they and their siblings had food at home later.

A similar pattern emerged when Trigg observed older students in the cafeteria, scarfing down multiple lunches and asking classmates for leftovers. It became overwhelmingly apparent that many students were unsure of where their next meals would come from — especially once school was no longer in session.

Soon enough, Trigg, along with a few fellow teachers, started to do some sneaking around of her own. "We would gather extra unopened food from the lunchroom and snack time (even though I don't think we were technically supposed to) and put it in certain kids' backpacks when the room was empty to avoid embarrassment for the student. We'd often send extra over the weekend too if need be," Trigg says.

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