More than half of Arizona students rely on free or reduced-price lunch
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More than half of Arizona school children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Why it matters: Teachers nationwide are increasingly worried about childhood hunger, with three-quarters reporting that students come to school hungry, according to a survey of 1,000 K-12 public school teachers in the U.S.
The big picture: Proposed cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance program, serving more than 41 million Americans, and federal funding cuts to free school meals could increase hunger, experts say.
- Around 40% of SNAP benefits go to children, per USDA data.
Stunning stat: Nearly 8 in 10 teachers said they were concerned about food insecurity in the communities where they teach, per the survey conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3.