Food for children left behind A report from the Chicago Tribune Hoping to stem persistent hunger and improve nutrition for poor children, the Chicago Public Schools and Greater Chicago Food Depository are sending kids home from school for the weekend with sacks of food. More studies are showing that children who don't receive adequate meals at home perform poorly at school, and officials are hoping their program will help reduce childhood hunger and thereby improve academic performance. "There are so many kids whose parents just don't have the means to provide enough nutrition for the kids, and unfortunately there is a population of kids who just miss meals," said Mike Mulqueen, executive director of the Food Depository. The program, dubbed Nourish for Knowledge, is active in 16 city schools in low-income neighborhoods, although officials hope it is well-received by parents and can be expanded. About 2,460 Chicago schoolchildren receive the sacks at week's end. Chicago school officials are making a concerted effort to make sure students are not suffering from hunger while they're sitting in class. About 273,000 city school students qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. The district serves about 72 million meals each school year, including breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks. Last year, the district launched a summer program to provide full meals for children at more than 400 schools in low-income neighborhoods, regardless of whether or not they were enrolled in school. The school system found great demand, serving about 1.2 million meals through the summer. "It's a recognition on the part of food banks and schools that many families right now are having trouble making ends meet in terms of their food budget," said Lynn Parker, director of child-nutrition programs at the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C. "During the weekend, they know that when school meals aren't available, the children and their families are struggling financially and need the extra help." In the meantime, children are bombarded with tests that threatened schools with loosing funds if students donâ