Second Harvest Column - June 7, 2007

 

There is good news for some of them. Summer Food is available here and there in our communities at sites where children from low-income families can get a nutritious meal. It could be available in every neighborhood if we could capture the imaginations and concern of the people who can make that happen. This government program pays for meals for kids in the summer. All we need is the place and the people to operate it.

 

Schools make good sense. They have fully equipped kitchens and cafeterias. There may be cafeteria workers interested in continuing on a lighter schedule during the summer. If they didn’t have kids actually eat there, they could prepare the meals for kids eating elsewhere. Elwood schools are among some that follow such a plan – they are taking food to the park where kids can eat from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

Second Harvest Food Bank coordinates several Summer Food sites at Kids Cafe locations in Elwood, Muncie and Wabash as well as at MOMS in Muncie, the Alexandria Community Center and with the Anderson Parks Department. Summer Food is a government program and comes with some paper work. Site staff must be willing to do some work before hand to understand requirements and then do head counts, meal counts and be sure to provide the same meal components as school lunch does. If all goes well, the federal reimbursement covers the cost of the summer food program. State monitors rigorously check each feeding site several times during the summer for compliance and are tough about reporting.

 

So, why can’t we feed every child from every economically stressed family in our communities all summer? Schools, camps, private nonprofit organizations, and units of local government can all sponsor Summer Food. They can contract with a vendor for the meals if they are not equipped to prepare their own. The can provide the meal out-of-doors or inside. Feeding sites must be approved by the State and can be either open or enrolled sites.

 

Summer meals for children

 

An open site is one in which at least half the children in the area are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Check with your local school to find out if your neighborhood qualifies. An enrolled site is one in which at least half the children enrolled in the site’s summer program are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch. All children 18 years of age or under are eligible to receive free meals at an open site. Only enrolled children may eat at an enrolled site.

 

We have the tools- ably provided by the State of Indiana with funding from the federal government. Now we just need folks to step up to do the work. Feeding our children during the summer is certainly the right thing to do. Maybe you are the one who can get the ball rolling with your church, school, city, town or social service organization. Kids who get adequate nutrition during the summer will be better students in the fall! It’s an investment in them and in our future.