When students’ stomachs grumble, teachers crowdsource for snack money

It's a Friday afternoon at Aliquippa Elementary and Gina Battaglini is circling her classroom to make sure each of her kindergarten students is in their assigned seat with something to eat in front of them.

"Everyone has a snack? Everyone here?" she shouts across a room filled with children's chatter.

Some students pull out containers from their backpack, and others choose from an assortment of packages stashed in colorful bins in a corner of the room — the classroom "snack bar." Once all 17 children are accounted for, they spend the next 20 minutes munching on Goldfish, pretzels and other bites while conversing across tables of four.

The daily snack break for kindergartners at Aliquippa Elementary isn't just a respite for the class: Teachers say it's necessary for students to get through the school day. Learning is difficult when children are hungry; research links hunger to lower academic achievement, particularly for young students. But many students, the majority of whom are economically disadvantaged, don't bring snacks. And to ensure no students go hungry during the day, the teachers rely on crowdfunding.

"They get breakfast and they get lunch. But it shows you that isn't enough," said Aliquippa kindergarten teacher Amy DiBenedetto.

The Aliquippa kindergarten teachers are among many educators in the region using crowdfunding for resources that go beyond learning materials.

Teachers in dozens of schools in Western Pennsylvania — a majority concentrated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district, and spanning from Sto-Rox to Altoona — are using DonorsChoose to raise funds for classroom snacks and other basic resources, including hygiene items. Like Aliquippa, most of these districts have a majority of economically disadvantaged students.

An important part of the school day

A scheduled snack break for elementary school students is not uncommon, particularly for younger students as they're adjusting to a full school day. At Aliquippa Elementary, with kindergarten lunchtime at 10:45 a.m., students get hungry toward the afternoon and struggle to stay on task, said kindergarten teacher Brittanee Lay.

"They can get distracted if they're hungry. And we can't expect them to focus on the work," said Lay. "We have to take care of that need first so that they can focus."

Students look forward to the snack break, and by the afternoon, Battaglini said her class will start asking for food.

Snacks, in addition to school meals, are critical, Battaglini said, because she has students who depend on the school for food. After dismissal, some of them might not eat until they return to the building the next day, she said.

Within the school district boundaries, around half of children are below the poverty line — more than three times the child poverty rate in Beaver County.

"Food insecurity is definitely real. It's definitely a problem," said Jennifer Damico, the director of pupil services for Aliquippa School District.

Some kindergarten students are also navigating their first experience with a school environment. Before the district implemented preschool in 2022, a majority of students came to kindergarten without any prior schooling, and many still do, said Damico.

"Our kindergarten teachers face a lot. They're the first line outside of the pre-K that interacts with our kids," said Damico. "And so they're getting to see firsthand where [the students] are."

Crowdfunding efforts

At least half of Battaglini's kindergartners regularly come to school without a snack. For years, she mostly paid out of her own pocket for supplemental snacks.

"It's very stressful, so I tried different things," said Battaglini, "I would get boxes of cereal and just give them a cup of cereal or fruit snack, something simple."

It eventually became unsustainable; Battaglini also provides for two children of her own.

In 2022, Battaglini turned, for snacks, to DonorsChoose , a popular teacher fundraising site that she'd been using since 2014 to purchase classroom items like learning materials, cushions and a rug. She figured she'd try it for the snacks, inspiring the other three kindergarten teachers to do the same.

She reached out to people she knew and posted the fundraiser on Facebook and Instagram. Since then, all three of her projects have been funded, with nearly $2,000 raised the past three years for bulk snack items like crackers, chips, fruit snacks and breakfast bars.

While most of the donors have been friends and family, Battaglini will occasionally get a large donation from someone out of state who's from the area. Aliquippa alum and NFL Hall-of-Famer Darrelle Revis' foundation has contributed significantly to her fundraisers and those of some of the other teachers. The foundation focuses on combating childhood hunger and provides a weekend food bag program at the school. Not having to worry about how she was going to provide snacks has been a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, Battaglini said.

"When you have kids in here and they're five and they're hungry, it's heartbreaking to see that," said Battaglini, "I don't even have the words to say, like how much it lifts off my shoulders and just really helps."

While the other three teachers were also successful the past two years, Battaglini's project is the only one fully funded so far this year. Lay, DiBenedetto, and teacher Jaime Hildebrand have received minimal donations. DiBenedetto suspects it's because there are so many teachers requesting items.

"There's just always a need for something, so, there's only so many resources to go around," said DiBenedetto.

'Everybody looks out for each other'

Known for its storied high school football program, Aliquippa is an incredibly proud and tight-knit community, said Lay. She grew up in the small city northwest of Pittsburgh.

"It's just like a family vibe with the community, everybody looks out for each other," said Lay.

Community members are often willing to jump in and offer support when they can, teachers said. Some parents of kindergarten students donate snacks and other resources to classrooms at the beginning of the school year.

Local organizations also provide resources for the school. In addition to the Darrelle Revis Foundation, the district partners with nonprofit Inspired Hearts and Hands and the regional branch of the Salvation Army to provide food and additional basic resources, particularly around the holidays.

"It takes a village, and everybody's somebody related to somebody who will help out," said Hildebrand.

But that pride can also be a barrier. Some families are hesitant to reach out for help, said Damico. She's working to build trust between families and the school, she said, but worries about who might be falling through the cracks.

"Who's going to be hungry this weekend or who doesn't have their heat turned on? And who's not telling us, and how do we get them to tell us?" said Damico.

A growing need

Needs appear to be growing across the country. In 2020, DonorsChoose created the "Warmth, Care and Hunger" category for fundraisers in response to teachers requesting more basic essentials for classrooms. Since then, and as of June, the organization reports a 110% increase in those requests.

"There's so many specific and unique needs in different school districts by teachers, whether it was in the wintertime 2020, 2021, students didn't have the coats and families couldn't buy the warm clothes that they could for their students," said Juan Brizuela, the public relations manager at DonorsChoose. "A lot of teachers went really above and beyond and did that."

There have now been close to 90,000 DonorsChoose fundraisers under the "Warmth, Care and Hunger" category, with nearly 80 percent of them at what the site calls "Equity Focus" schools, where at least half of students are Black, Latino and/or Native American and come from low-income households.

Coming soon: Pantries in schools

Aliquippa is working on bringing in more resources for students and families. The district recently became part of Pittsburgh Area Community Schools , an organization that partners with schools to integrate academic, health and social services for students and families. Starting a food pantry at both the elementary and high school is a priority of this new initiative, Damico said, and she's excited about the new opportunity.

"Our job really is to make sure the kids are safe and in a state of mind where they can learn. And that's all. That's our goal," said Damico.

In the meantime, the kindergarten teachers plan to continue using DonorsChoose to fund their snack supply each year. If they struggle to get donations, they'll return to using their own funds and hoping some parents will continue to contribute, Hildebrand said.

"We'll make it work."