No more pencils, no more books. No more meals for hungry children who need them the most? Not so thanks to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
According to No Kid Hungry, food-insecure children are 90% more likely to have their overall health reported as “fair/poor” and childhood hunger has been linked to significant health problems in adulthood. In 2014 alone, nearly 689,000 New Jersey children participated in New Jersey’s National School Lunch program that provides in-school free and reduced price meals to qualifying families.
SFSP ensures that low-income children up to the age of 18 continue to receive nutritious meals, even when school is not in session. The best way to ensure the success of SFSP is by increasing awareness. The more parents, children and teenagers know about the program and where sites are located, the more children will come to eat.
New to the SFSP page of the USDA website this year is a new and improved “site finder” which aims to make finding a food serving site easier for families in need. Simply click to find a site, enter address, city, state and zip and choose from the 10, 25 or 50 nearest locations. Data entered is not tracked, collected or retained. New sites are added as the school year ends, so participants are encouraged to check back often to find the one closest to them.
We encourage anyone reading this blog to repost and spread the word!
