As School Ends, Hunger Begins
On June 9, 2010, Melissa Boteach, manager of the Half In Ten Campaign, and Sophie Milam, senior policy counsel at Feeding America, released an article detailing the need for better access to summer meals for low-income children. As schools begin to let out this month, many children will face a summer of skipping meals or consuming the cheap, but empty calories that contribute to our nation’s obesity epidemic.
More than 31 million children benefit from the national school lunch program, 62 percent of whom receive free or reduced-price meals. But only one in six of these kids will receive a similarly subsidized summer meal during the summer months. This column outlines specific policy solutions to address the “summer hunger gap” as Congress considers the Child Nutrition bill.
The full article could be read here.
