September 7/Mississauga, Ont./PRNewswire -- Statistics Canada reports that more than 700,000 children live in households that don't have access to enough food. Food Banks Canada reports that nearly 900,000 people rely on the assistance of a food bank in order to have enough to eat each month. Some 38% of those assisted are children. Half of the 370,000 households helped by food banks are families with children.

In a new poll of Canadian teachers called "The Pulse on Hungry Kids in Canada," commissioned by the Quaker brand, a resounding 98% of teachers polled agreed that starting the day with a nutritious breakfast is essential for student success. Yet, more than two-thirds (68%) of teachers believe there are students in their classroom who come to school hungry, without eating breakfast or a sufficient breakfast.

Teachers also report observing negative effects in their classroom, which they believe are a result of hunger. Some 96% of teachers say they have observed a reduced attention span in students that they believe to be hungry, while 72% say they have observed hungry students show poor memory function and 71% say they have observed those students have difficulty problem solving. In fact, more than half (54%) of Canadian teachers polled also said they have used their own money to purchase food for a student they believed to be hungry.

 

 

From the September 7, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.