Social Justice-Should Teachers address the issue of Poverty in Schools?

If school is a place will students obtain knowledge to help them become well informed and educated individuals than would that include teaching social issues too? Poverty in society is a reality. It effects can be devastating. According to Money.CNN.com the nations poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1%. The alarming face is that 22% were poverty for children. With that fact it is obvious that school aged children are going to public schools with lack. How does a teacher combat that issue. Should a teacher combat that issue? It is said that if a child goes hungry he lacks the ability to learn at his ful1 potential.  If a child is living in poverty then some needs are not being meet. food is one of those needs. Although there are Federal programs such as the SNAP, Free Lunch and Wic,many families are still at a disadvantage. Many families today do not fit into the mold of qualifying for those services. The reality is that many families are just one paycheck away from being in the poverty level. So what happens to the children that are sent to the public schools? Should teachers get involved? Should the school get involved.  Social Justice is just what it states. Teachers should get involved with social issues that effect their students. If a child is not performing to its potential because of outside issues then a teacher should be the advocated to aid in services and awareness. How do you bring that to a classroom. In literature I read I saw that some curriculum do include the topic of poverty and hunger. This is a subject taught in class. I believe this can bring awareness to students and aid in giving students that are a product of this a feeling of hope. There are also ways in which the teacher can identify students that may perhaps be in need of clothes, food or shelter and referring them to social organizations that can provide the needs. There can also be class project like food drives and clothing drives. All this can bring awareness of the issue of poverty and combat it with the aid of students.  Some may argue that a teachers job should be to education the student not engaging in social issue. Some may thing that a teacher is projecting is own agenda and forcing it down the throats of the students. This may be true for some but with the statistic as it is it really needs to be address for the betterment of the students that are effected by it as a whole. Should teacher address poverty in public school? Yes they should with ethics and selflessness.
Http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/13/news/economy/povery_rate_income/index.htm
https://learning.unmassonline.net/webct/urw/lc140823001551261/select