Summer will be here before we know it (some of those unusually warm days in January were intended to remind you) and it’s time to start planning.
Plan for what, exactly, you ask? Let’s start here.
Across the country, there are now 21 million children receiving free/reduced-price lunch through the USDA’s National School Lunch Program during the school year. Only 3 million of those children will go on to receive a free, nutritious lunch during the summer months through one of the USDA’s summer feeding programs. In California, 2 million children receive free/reduced-price lunch during the year and only 410,000 participate in a subsidized summer feeding program…in other words, 80% of eligible kids may not have access to healthy food when school’s out.
So what happens to these kids when school lets out for summer vacation?
Summer meal programs present an untapped opportunity for communities to ensure that kids do not fall through the cracks — that they have access to good nutrition, so they can return to school in the fall, healthy and ready to learn. They also present unprecedented possibilities for strong community partnerships to work creatively and effectively during these tight economic times.
So whether you are a policymaker, out-of-school-time program manager, school child nutrition director, librarian, school board member, park & rec leader, or church pastor, there is a role for you to help California’s low-income kids access healthy food when school’s out.
The Summer Meal Coalition will begin a free webinar series in February showcasing how communities are successfully working to meet this growing need. Click here to find out how you can get involved.
Stop the summer nutrition gap.
