On an average weekday in July 2018, the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program served a combined 2,900,000 children, down 5.7% from July 2017, a report found.
To be clear, researchers say, the number of children participating in a summer nutrition program, whether it's lunch or dinner, isn't down during the summer because more families are able to afford food on their own — rather, children aren't able to access these free meals as easily as they would during the school year. Children may not have transportation to get to the meal sites or communities are unable to find enough sponsors or the space to host children during the summer.
A boy drinks milk distributed at Rowley Park in East Orange, N.J. The city has over 6,500 participants who are served daily across multiple sites.In fiscal year 2018, the USDA's Summer Food Service Program served more than 150 million meals and snacks at a cost of $484 million.
The Food Research and Action Center wants states to raise the bar by getting at least 40 children to have a summer meal for every 100 children participating in school year lunch, particularly as Congress this year weighs the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which was first signed under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 and set nutrition standards for school meals.
The state is anticipating huge growth after 127 school districts were identified as needing to comply this year and another 100 school districts next year, said Nancy Parello, a spokeswoman for Hunger Free New Jersey, a nonprofit focused on fighting hunger.
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