Despite programs intended to ensure children have enough to eat in and out of school, teachers across the nation report they are witnessing a growing number of hungry students—which affects their ability to concentrate and learn, according to a new survey.

More than 60 percent of the teachers responding to the survey, Hunger in America’s Classrooms, say most or many of the students at their schools rely on school meals for their primary source of nutrition. But that often is not enough, and teachers are dipping into their wallets to fill the gaps. Elementary teachers reported spending an average of $27 a month to buy snacks and other food items for their students and for middle school teachers, the average is $38.

What’s happening in the schools is a reflection of what’s going on outside the classroom as well. The New York Times reported last week that nearly one in four children in the United States receive food stamps. In St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans, half of the children or more receive food stamps as do 40 percent of children in Peoria, Ill. The number of food stamp recipients has climbed by some 10 million over the past two years, resulting in a program that now feeds one in eight Americans, the Times reported.

Nearly 17 million U.S. children are considered at risk of hunger at some time during each school year, according to the AFT. Randi Weingarten, AFT’s president, says the fact that any child in America who comes to school too hungry to learn is a “travesty.”

We must find ways to make sure that all eligible students have access to nutritious food programs, such as free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch in school; and afterschool, weekend and summer programs when out of school.

The teacher survey was commissioned by the Washington, D.C.-based Share Our Strength anti-hunger organization and included some 740 teachers. AFT members are sharing their stories and giving examples online of how the problem affects their students and identifying steps they believe would alleviate it. Click here to share your experiences and ideas on student hunger.

This week, the grassroots movement for health care reform centered on working family roundtables where dozens of participants in key states testified about the need to fix the nation’s broken health care system. 

In Gary, Ind., more than 50 attendees, including union members, faith leaders and civil right activists, came together last night to discuss the changes we need to make health care accessible and affordable.

Roundtables also took place in Wisconsin and Nebraska this week, with many more scheduled in the days ahead. 

Working families say their big concern about the current Senate health care reform bill is that it would tax health benefits. The Senate bill includes a tax on health plans that cost more than $8,500 a year for individuals or $23,000 a year for families—but that’s not the right way to fund reform. 

In the Grand Forks Herald today, North Dakota AFL-CIO President David Kemnitz says reforming health care is an urgent priority—and that we must make sure it’s paid for fairly: 

One troubling proposal is a tax on the health benefits of middle-class families. It’s the wrong path. The average family health care premium is up 131 percent since 1999. Yet some in Washington think it’s OK to ask workers already struggling with stagnant wages, higher health care costs and foreclosures to pay more for what they already have. 

We know there is a better way. The House has passed legislation that will require the already wealthy to pay a fair share. We think it’s only right for those who benefit so richly from the $2.5 trillion Bush tax cuts to pay their fair share. 

In a new report at Health Affairs, researchers say high-cost health care plans don’t mean policyholders are getting “Cadillac” benefits. Instead, benefits could cost more because of factors such as the age and health of workers, and the cost may even depend upon where a company is located.

A new survey of employers suggests that with a health benefits tax in place, many employers would raise deductibles or co-payments—or reduce or eliminate their contributions to their workers’ health coverage. 

Here’s more news from the fight for health care reform: 

• Ed Coyle of the Alliance for Retired Americans appeared yesterday on MSNBC to set the record straight on how health care reform helps seniors and protects Medicare.
• The American Cancer Society Action Network explains the next steps in the Senate.
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) offers a great health care reality check at the Huffington Post, saying everyone deserves access to the kinds of health care choices members of Congress have.
• The insurance industry’s latest attempt to manufacture dodgy numbers against health care reform is a bust.
• Families USA asks senators to allow a vote, not block health care reform with a filibuster.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, has agreed to pay $40 million to as many as 87,500 current and former employees in Massachusetts, the largest wage-and-hour class-action settlement in the state’s history.

Nearly 600 workers at Norwood Hospital, ranging from respiratory therapists to housekeepers, will join the Service Employees International Union as the result of an election yesterday.