How Rising Food Costs Are Undermining Student Health and Learning
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Every morning, teachers across the country welcome students into classrooms, ready to teach, nurture, and guide them. But increasingly, one quiet, invisible factor stands between students and success: hunger. The rising cost of food is making healthy eating harder for millions of American families, and its impact is playing out in real time in our schools.
Recent data from the Pew Research Center shows that 90% of Americans believe healthy food is getting more expensive, and nearly 70% say that makes it harder to eat well.
For many students, school meals are the most consistent and nutritious food they receive. But when families struggle to afford fresh produce, dairy, and proteins at home and when school meal budgets are stretched thin, children are left nutritionally vulnerable.
At Quest, we witness these effects and navigate them daily. Check out our latest blog post from our team of experts on the ripple effect of rising food costs, its impact on children and schools, and what can be done about it.
The Impact on Children and Schools
We see it in the student who can’t focus during morning reading because they haven’t had breakfast, in the child who acts out before lunch because they’re tired, irritable, and running on empty, and in the teen who skips meals out of embarrassment or who shares their lunch with a younger sibling at home. These moments reflect a deeper crisis, one where food insecurity and poor nutrition are silently shaping academic and behavioral outcomes.
According to the USDA, over 13 million children in the U.S. lived in food-insecure households in 2024. That’s nearly 1 in 5 kids. And in single-parent households—especially those led by single mothers—rates are even higher. These aren’t just statistics. They’re our students. And the effects of food insecurity don’t stop at the cafeteria. Poor nutrition is linked to lower test scores, higher absenteeism, difficulty concentrating, and more frequent behavioral issues. For younger children, it can even impact brain development, speech, and emotional regulation—critical building blocks of early learning.
Unfortunately, many schools are also feeling the pinch. Rising food costs are straining district budgets, making serving balanced, fresh meals harder. Some cafeterias are forced to rely more heavily on shelf-stable and processed foods, which are often higher in sodium and lower in nutrients. While school food service teams work tirelessly to provide for our students, they can only do so much without adequate funding and support.
As schools are increasingly becoming hubs for food access through breakfast programs, weekend backpack initiatives, and even school gardens, the need continues to outpace available resources. Organizations like Quest Food Managment Services partner with schools to address this gap head-on by designing custom food and beverage programs that prioritize scratch-made meals, maximize available funding, and improve student participation. Whether it’s implementing breakfast-in-the-classroom, expanding after-school snack programs, or boosting engagement through themed meals and nutrition education, Quest delivers solutions that meet students where they are.
What Can Be Done to Help
So, what can we do? We can start by raising our voices. Advocate for increased investment in school meal programs These programs don’t just feed kids—they level the playing field and reduce stigma. You can also work with administrators, local nonprofits, and parent groups to support food access initiatives, from community fridges to classroom snack stations and partners like Quest Food Managment Services.
In the classroom, you can incorporate age-appropriate lessons about nutrition and food systems, helping students understand where their food comes from and why it matters. As importantly, you can continue to create safe, supportive environments where no child feels ashamed of being hungry or asking for help.
Ultimately, this is not just a health issue; it’s an education issue. Students cannot learn, grow, or thrive if their basic nutritional needs are unmet. The rising cost of food is an urgent, systemic problem, but schools have a critical role to play in mitigating its impact.
Healthier Children and a Better Tomorrow
Educators can’t control food prices, but you can control how you respond by recognizing the role food plays in student success and championing policies and practices that prioritize nutrition. Educators can help ensure that every child—not just the well-fed—has the chance to learn, lead, and succeed. No child should have to choose between being hungry and being ready to learn. And no teacher should have to teach on an empty stomach—real or figurative—in their classroom. If you have a food and beverage project for your school or would like to learn how collaborating with Quest can benefit your educational institution, please reach out to say hello!