PROMOTING SUMMER MEALS

Only one out of six of eligible kids participate in the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program, which seeks to address food insecurity during the summer months when they are out of school. Three challenges contribute to the low participation rate: transportation, lack of sponsors and sites, and eligible families’ awareness of site locations. The National Conference of State Legislatures identifies several recent actions states have taken to promote SFSP, including Texas’ 2013 law to developing a five-year plan in collaboration with Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative and a 2012 Nebraska initiative that empowers the State Department of Education to award grants up to $15,000 to SFSP sponsors to cover the initiation or expansion of the program, conduct outreach, acquire equipment, and train SFSP staff. 

 

Source: NCSL, 6/25/14, Summer Meals