School nutrition programs are integral to academic success. To support the whole child, teachers must appreciate what role nutrition plays in academic success. Studies of food insecurity reveal there are degrees of severity. Although the key determinate of food security is poverty, employment is not necessarily a shield. One can eat and still be malnourished by high starch low nutrient food. In northern communities, severe costs result in food insecurity reaching higher up the income pyramid. Co-occurring measures of poverty, food insecurity, obesity and diabetes within Manitoba's Indigenous communities are high. Schools are ideally positioned as supports within our communities.