During middle childhood, a healthy diet facilitates physical and mental development and helps to maintain health and wellness. School-aged children experience steady, consistent growth, but at a slower rate than they did in early childhood. This slowed growth rate can have a lasting impact if nutritional, caloric, and activity levels aren’t adjusted in middle childhood. Maintaining levels from early childhood into middle childhood can lead to excessive weight gain early in life and to obesity in adolescence and adulthood. Making sure that children have proper nutrients will allow for optimal growth and development.

Millions of children grow up in food-insecure households with inadequate diets due to both the amount of available food and the quality of food. In the United States in 2021, about 13 percent of households with children are food insecure to some degree (USDA, 2022). In half of those, only adults experience food insecurity, while in the other half both adults and children are considered to be food insecure. This means that a significant percentage of American children do not have access to adequate, nutritious meals at times.

Access to food and water is the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see Chapter 2). Without clean water and adequate food, a person cannot survive. When a person has inadequate access to food and water, they may experience a number of negative health consequences. Deficiencies in iron, zinc, protein, and vitamin A can result in stunted growth, illness, and limited development. Federal programs, such as the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and Summer Feeding Programs, work to address the risk of hunger and malnutrition in school-aged children. They help to fill the gaps and provide children living in food-insecure households with greater access to nutritious meals.