In today’s world, no child should ever go hungry, and yet a worrying number of families are left fighting every week to meet even the most basic food needs.
The harsh reality of what some children face left a teacher in the U.S. in tears, after one of her pupils asked a heartbreaking question.
The teacher, named Brooke, took to Facebook to share her experience, and her post has since garnered plenty of attention the world over.
Writing on social media, Brooke recounted: “Today I cried at work. Not because I hate my job, or that it is just too hard (it really is).
“Today I cried for a child, a child who so innocently talked about food, and the lack of it.”
Caught off guard
Brooke said she was caught off guard when the boy asked when the “lady who puts food in his backpack is coming”.
It transpired he was talking of the school’s guidance counsellor. Brooke, unsure of what he needed, told him that she didn’t know when the lady he was looking for would be in.
She proceeded to ask him what it was in the bag that he liked so much. She wondered if it might be macaroni bowls, or crackers, or perhaps spaghetti O’s.
“He laughed and told me no, that they didn’t have those,” she wrote.
“Then it happened. He looked at me and said ‘those little Os (as he made a small circle with his hand).
‘We don’t have those at my house, but when I do have them they give me a warm belly and help me sleep’
“I lost it, I cried in front of 20 little people. No kid should ever be hungry, ever.”
Brooke knew she had to do something, so she sent a message to the teachers’ chat group, asking if they could donate money to put together a bag of food for the boy to take home.
Her subsequent post has been shared 29,000 times and received in excess of 4,700 comments. Not only that, but, more importantly, the school, in Jacksboro, Texas, is now starting a food pantry for its students to ensure they can get food and hygiene products when needed.
“I did not write this for anyone to get praise, nobody did it for the praise,” Brooke said.
“I want people to know that teachers are humans, we love your kids and want the very best for them.
“Some days we get frustrated and feel overwhelmed, but today we did what was best for a child. Will it show on a test score? Nope! Do we care? Nope!
“It’s a crazy rollercoaster of emotions being a teacher, but today it was worth every tear that fell to see him light up when that bag was put into his backpack.”
Brooke, thank you so much for what you’ve done, not only in making strides to tackle an obvious problem, but for shedding light on a topic perhaps too few people truly know about.
Share this article if you think Brooke is an amazing teacher.
