National service members sworn in today to strengthen summer feeding programs for kids
COLUMBUS – Two national reports released today indicate that many of the more than one in four children in Ohio living in food insecure households do not have access to adequate nutrition, especially during the summer months.
Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2013 report shows that nearly 680,000 Ohio children—more than one in four (25.7 percent)—live in food insecure households, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal will come from. Children struggling with food insecurity are more likely to need to repeat a grade at school and experience higher rates of diabetes and other chronic conditions.[1]
“We cannot continue to leave our children without adequate, reliable nutrition,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. “Even one experience with hunger can have a negative impact on the health of children 10 and 15 years later.[2]”
Lack of access to adequate food is never more prevalent for children than during the summer months, when those children who normally receive free or reduced-price school meals must rely on the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program and other privately funded child nutrition programs. The 2013 Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) indicates that many of those children are not being reached.
The FRAC report found that for every 100 children in Ohio that received free or reduced-price school meals during the 2012 school year, only 10.2 accessed summer nutrition programs. On a positive note, however, the report also found that there was a 10 percent increase in the number of Summer Food Service Program sites operating in Ohio, making more access points available to needy families.
Today, 65 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates will be sworn into service to strengthen Summer Food Service Program sites in the most high-need areas of the state. They will help to raise awareness of the program, prepare and distribute meals to participating children, and build the capacity of their feeding sites to serve more children.
“The Summer Food Service Program is a vitally important resource for low-income families. Children can not only access nutritious foods, but educational and recreational programming as well,” said Hamler-Fugitt. “We are proud to swear-in a dedicated group of national service members today that will make an enormous impact on some of our state’s most at-risk children and the summer feeding programs that serve them. This partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Ohio Department of Education is about moving the needle on the issue of childhood hunger.”
To learn more about the Summer Food Service Program in Ohio, visit the Ohio Department of Education’s website or call 1-855-570-7377 to find a site near you. To view the interactive Map the Meal Gap report, visit Feeding America’s website at www.feedingamerica.org/mapthegap. To view the full Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report, visit FRAC’s website at www.frac.org.
COLUMBUS – Two national reports released today indicate that many of the more than one in four children in Ohio living in food insecure households do not have access to adequate nutrition, especially during the summer months.
Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2013 report shows that nearly 680,000 Ohio children—more than one in four (25.7 percent)—live in food insecure households, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal will come from. Children struggling with food insecurity are more likely to need to repeat a grade at school and experience higher rates of diabetes and other chronic conditions.[1]
“We cannot continue to leave our children without adequate, reliable nutrition,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. “Even one experience with hunger can have a negative impact on the health of children 10 and 15 years later.[2]”
Lack of access to adequate food is never more prevalent for children than during the summer months, when those children who normally receive free or reduced-price school meals must rely on the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program and other privately funded child nutrition programs. The 2013 Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) indicates that many of those children are not being reached.
The FRAC report found that for every 100 children in Ohio that received free or reduced-price school meals during the 2012 school year, only 10.2 accessed summer nutrition programs. On a positive note, however, the report also found that there was a 10 percent increase in the number of Summer Food Service Program sites operating in Ohio, making more access points available to needy families.
Today, 65 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates will be sworn into service to strengthen Summer Food Service Program sites in the most high-need areas of the state. They will help to raise awareness of the program, prepare and distribute meals to participating children, and build the capacity of their feeding sites to serve more children.
“The Summer Food Service Program is a vitally important resource for low-income families. Children can not only access nutritious foods, but educational and recreational programming as well,” said Hamler-Fugitt. “We are proud to swear-in a dedicated group of national service members today that will make an enormous impact on some of our state’s most at-risk children and the summer feeding programs that serve them. This partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Ohio Department of Education is about moving the needle on the issue of childhood hunger.”
To learn more about the Summer Food Service Program in Ohio, visit the Ohio Department of Education’s website or call 1-855-570-7377 to find a site near you. To view the interactive Map the Meal Gap report, visit Feeding America’s website at www.feedingamerica.org/mapthegap. To view the full Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report, visit FRAC’s website at www.frac.org.
[1] Nord, M. (2009). Food Insecurity in Households with Children: Prevalence, Severity, and Household Characteristics. Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
[2] Child Hunger and Long-term Adverse Consequences for Health. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine 2010.