Many hungry children miss out on far more than regular meals. Hunger can do serious, long-term harm to a child’s health and ability to learn, and childhood hunger is a bigger challenge in Alabama than in most other states. More than one in four of the state’s children live in families with incomes below the poverty level, and more than one in five Alabama families with children say they have trouble putting enough food on the table.

Three key child nutrition programs — the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program and the Summer Food Service Program — have been shown to help improve children’s health and ability to learn. This fact sheet by ACPP policy analyst Carol Gundlach examines what these programs mean for hundreds of thousands of Alabama children and considers some ways the programs could serve even more hungry children.