As a former elementary school teacher and school principal, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona knows about how hard it can be for hungry kids to learn. In the last episode of our Food Is the Most Important Food Supply series, he shares how he and his department are advocating for school meals. 

"The days of our schools just focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic are long gone,” he reports. ”It's critical to recognize that the role of the teacher and the role of the school has evolved to providing food for many of our students."

He sees this as a challenge worth meeting. “If we cannot prioritize and address with urgency the needs of our youngest, our most vulnerable, then we have to do some soul searching as a country… The public education system, in my opinion, is the best tool that we have to not only help our children succeed, but continue to help our country prosper.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.