Why Nutrition Shouldn’t Be a Choice for Single Moms

At Jeremiah Program (JP), we talk a lot about “disrupting generational poverty,” but what that really means is ensuring that single mothers like me don’t have to choose between feeding our children healthy food and feeding ourselves at all. The burden of that choice, one I had to make more than once, is something no one should carry alone.

JP’s model is built on five pillars that help disrupt the cycle of poverty: a career-track college education, quality early childhood education, safe and affordable housing, life skills training, and a supportive community. But there’s one core element that intersects across all of them — public policy — and within that, food insecurity and nutrition. Because let’s be clear: Nutrition is not a luxury. It’s a necessity, especially in the earliest years of life, when a child’s brain is forming the foundations for everything they’ll ever learn, do, and become.

I am a single mom who re-enrolled in higher education, working a full-time job and raising two incredible kids. Balancing school, work, and parenting on my own takes a kind of strength and resilience that few people ever see up close, but even that strength has limits. And those limits show most clearly when the system forces me to stretch every dollar so far that it cracks — often leaving food, the most basic need of all, hanging in the balance. No one is strong enough to thrive on their own when the system is set up to make us choose between basic necessities.

How can we expect children to reach their full potential if the system doesn’t even guarantee them a full meal?

Food insecurity isn’t just about empty refrigerators and cabinets. It’s about impossible trade-offs: a grocery cart filled with cheap, processed food that will stretch for days or fresh fruits and vegetables that disappear in one. And when I’m down to my last $20 and payday is still a week away, I start doing the math in a way no parent should ever have to.

There are days when dinner means getting creative with whatever is left — cereal again, watered-down noodles passed off as soup, canned goods that fill the plate but not the body. I do what I have to because that’s what parents do, but behind every “I’ve got this” is a woman running on empty physically, emotionally, and mentally. Survival shouldn’t require this much sacrifice.

And through it all, my kids stay active, passionate, and driven. They’ve tried almost every sport out there. My daughter runs track and plays volleyball and basketball, a true athlete through and through. My son sticks with basketball, and his energy and love for the game never waver. Struggling to maintain healthy nutrition is never just about feeding their bodies; it’s about fueling their dreams, their focus, their strength, and their growth. Imagine telling a child athlete that they can give it their all at practice — but not expect a full plate at dinner. What message does that send?

That’s why JP’s public policy pillar on food security is so essential. Food insecurity is a systemic issue, and systemic issues require systemic solutions. We need policies that provide access to healthy food, fund programs like WIC and SNAP, and recognize early childhood nutrition as a public investment, not just a private responsibility. We need stronger support for working mothers, expanded access to subsidized child care, extended family leave, flexible work policies, and meal programs that reach families beyond traditional school hours.

Legislators must understand that helping single mothers feed their kids nutritious food is not a handout; it’s a strategy for long-term success because healthy kids grow into educated, capable adults. And it starts with access to fresh, nourishing food from day one.

So, here’s a question I want every policymaker, community leader, and voter to sit with: How can we expect children to reach their full potential if the system doesn’t even guarantee them a full meal?

It’s not enough to tell mothers to work harder, budget smarter, or cook better. We’re already doing all of that. Parenting means making sure our kids have what they need to thrive emotionally, physically, and mentally, and proper nutrition is a foundational part of that.

You can’t parent well on an empty stomach, and kids can’t grow, learn, or succeed without real nourishment. What we need is a system that values our children’s futures enough to invest in their present, starting with the food they eat.

Tiffany Benson is the senior manager of family and community engagement at a Massachusetts nonprofit centered on parental education. She also served as a 2024-2025 JP Alumni Fellow.

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