Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? . . . We have amazing knowledge of vitamins, nutrition, the chemistry of food, and the versatility of atoms. There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A human’s relationship with food is one of the most important relationships they ever develop. Our diet provides the necessary caloric intake for our bodies to operate both physically and mentally, with the human brain alone needing a minimum of 320 calories per day just to think.

Given the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, it is difficult to fathom how, in the richest country in the world, 10.2% of U.S. households, or roughly one in ten households, experienced food insecurity in 2021. While anybody can experience food insecurity, historical systems of oppression have resulted in certain racial and socioeconomic groups being impacted much more than others in the United States.

In 2021, food insecurity rates were noticeably higher than the national average (10.2%) for Black (19.8%) and Hispanic (16.2%) households, while food insecurity rates for White (7%) households was significantly lower than the national average. Additionally, in 2021, rates of food insecurity were significantly higher in households with children (12.5%) and households with children under age six (12.9%).

In the case of kindergarten to twelfth grade students, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) ensures that students whose families fall below the poverty line are eligible to receive free school lunches. However, of the households that received assistance from NLSP in 2021, only 32.4% experienced food insecurity that year.

While providing meals to children who fall beneath the poverty line addresses some households that are food insecure, it leaves out a large number who are “not poor enough.” For students to qualify for free school meals, their household must be at or below 130% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). This financial eligibility requirement leaves many food insecure students hungry because their families earn “too much to qualify for free school meals but too little to get by.” Of the portion of students considered “not poor enough” to qualify for free school lunches, nearly 60% are students of color.

If anything good came from the COVID-19 Pandemic, it may be that the United States passed emergency legislation ensuring free meals to all students. While these emergency packages were designed for the general public, they also temporarily bridged the gap for food insecure students who would normally be ineligible for NLSP by providing them access to free school meals. Maintaining universal school lunch programs would alleviate youth food insecurity as well as advance racial equity by improving health outcomes for students of color.

The Minnesota Legislature is currently considering a piece of legislation, HF1729, which would ensure universal free lunches for all students attending schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. While this is not enough, it is a step in the right direction.

This article will detail the prevalence of food insecurity in the United States, look to how this issue disproportionally impacts children of color, and recall the history of youth nutrition programs meant to alleviate youth food insecurity. The article will then analyze how the aforementioned child nutrition programs have fallen short and aided in the perpetuation of youth food insecurity. Finally, the article will look at youth food insecurity in Minnesota and why Minnesota’s proposed legislation regarding universal free school lunch is not enough.