The impact of food insecurity on education is significant

“In reality, it is a big help because sometimes times are tough, and it is really hard to even buy sugar,” said Lisbeth, a parent of a student at Escuela Integrada.

For the families at Escuela Integrada, vacation months are not packed full with adventurous travel or meals in restaurants. Instead, it’s quite the opposite. It can be an incredibly stressful time for families who try to get by on an average income of $297 per month. Living on less than $10 per day, the families stretch every possible resource to be able to feed their children, put a roof over their heads and make sure their families are clean and healthy. 

Guatemala is listed as 1 of the 10 countries most vulnerable to natural disasters and other such environmental threats. Years of drought and crop failure have caused extreme food insecurity in Guatemala. Natural disasters and other severe environmental challenges in Guatemala lead to higher rates of undernutrition because they negatively affect crops, leading to food shortages.

More than half of the Guatemalan population suffers from food and nutrition insecurity.

The impact of food insecurity on education is significant. Fear, worry, physical pain, malnutrition; these all get in the way of a child’s brain development. If infants and children are not able to properly develop and grow, they can experience up to a 40% loss of structural brain development. Cognitive underdevelopment from undernutrition was also shown to lead to mental health difficulties.

This reality weighs heavily on the families, teachers and staff of Escuela Integrada, which is why GRACES is committed to providing food for every child every day, including supplemental food bags during the vacation months. 

With a full belly, the children are receptive to learning, which is the only true way out of poverty in Guatemala. 

Lucca is a student at Escuela Integrada who lives in Jocotenango near the school. His mom knows that he will get a warm, nutritious breakfast and lunch each day at school. For his family, this means Lisbeth can make what little resources they have go that much further. 

“The food my son gets at school is also a great help because, as a parent, it helps us save on breakfast and lunch, and we only need to worry about dinner,” she said. “It’s such a big help for us.” 

At press time, we were closing in on $10,000 raised so far for GRACES’ Year-End Campaign. All donations between now and Dec. 31 will go directly to providing food for children at Escuela Integrada in 2025. The annual budget for food is $94,100, and every dollar raised this month will help us fund the program in 2025. 

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