Every morning, students gather around their school’s cafeteria to eat breakfast. Among every five children in school, at least one will not eat breakfast. Hunger makes school harder for the 23 percent of Illinois children who are food insecure.

February 23-27 marks Illinois School Breakfast Week, a time to acknowledge the lingering hunger gap in the state.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Illinois No Kid Hungry and other partners launched the Rise and Shine Illinois campaign to advocate for expanding school breakfast.

In 2013, roughly 449,000 children did not receive breakfasts available to them despite growing participation in breakfast programs.

The Rise and Shine Illinois campaign urges residents to take the breakfast pledge today.

“Children need a well-balanced and nutritious breakfast every morning. Kids perform better in school when they aren’t hungry,” said State Senator Mattie Hunter, member of the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee. “That’s why I’m pledging to see no child hungry in Illinois.”

Next week, March 2-6 also marks National School Breakfast Week. The Illinois School Nutrition Association asks people to join the national conversation about providing nutritious meal options for all students in America.