Date: July 8, 2009

24,000 Vermont Children without Healthy Meals this Summer

Report released today reveals that although 29,000 Vermont children rely on free and reduced price school meals - only 4,684 have access to meals during the summer

Burlington, VT – 29,000 Vermont children rely on free and reduced price meals during the school year. However a national report released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reveals that only 4,684 of these children have access to meals during the summer months.

Although the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is federally-funded, additional funds are needed to cover programming, staffing, and transportation costs. Karen Dolan, nutrition program manager at the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, says “Summer food programs provide important nutrition to low-income children and are a source of economic stimulus to communities that can make the numbers work. However, the meal reimbursements are designed for large urban areas and often don’t cover actual costs in rural areas where is it is hard to reach the economy of scale needed.”

The Federal Summer Food Service Program provides healthy meals, often in conjunction with enriching programming during the summer months. Without healthy food and supervised programming, children fall behind during the summer both academically and developmentally. The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger is working with communities across the state to help increase access to summer food for Vermont’s children. Additionally, this fall, Congress will examine the program in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, which is reauthorized every five years. “Child Nutrition Reauthorization presents Vermont with an opportunity to advocate for improvements to this crucial nutrition program and cut red tape that makes program operation difficult,” says Dolan. “Most people know that low-income kids count on school meals to get enough to eat. How many of us stop and ask what happens to these kids when the cafeteria closes for the summer?”

For more information call (802-865-0255 or cell: 802-233-4434) or email , Nutrition Program Manager at the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. Click for a look at Channel 17 video coverage of the Summer Food Kick-Off at Roosevelt Park on June 26.

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The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger is a statewide nonprofit organization that works with state agencies and community groups to develop sustainable hunger solutions. Since 1993 the Campaign’s outreach programs have substantially enhanced Vermont’s nutrition safety net and increased access to nutritious foods.

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