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When school’s out and summer vacation hits, many students who rely on free or reduced price lunches at school are left without proper daily nutrition.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s summer meals programs, including the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option, ensure that low-income children who rely on school meals can receive the nutritious food they need during the summer months so they are healthy and ready to learn when they return to school in the fall.
But the number of kids who participate in these programs is small, especially in certain states. For example, in Illinois nearly 800,000 kids receive free or reduced price lunch in school, but only 11 percent of eligible Illinois children participate in the summer meal programs.
The USDA plans to give extra technical assistance to states who are at risk of low enrollment in summer meals programs.
Along with Illinois, other states with high levels of food insecurity and/or low program participation receiving additional technical assistance from USDA include: Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas.
Check out all the Summer Food Service Program resources on their website.
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