More than 20 million children participate in school lunch programs nationwide and more than 10 million partake in school breakfast. All that ends when summer break begins.
At the same time, food bank donations dwindle. Interest is high around such holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas but wanes during summer months.
Certainly, underprivileged children and families still have access to healthy meals when school is out, but Feeding America cites: “… only 3.9 million receive free or reduced-price meals through the USDA Summer Food Service Program.” The organization explains the gap of 1 in 6 summer to school-time participants as the result of different factors, including a lack of access to meal sites, insufficient program awareness and overall limited resources after schools close for the summer.
Similar dynamics adhere to food bank participants; many may not know about or have access to a food bank, or the food bank may not be able to meet needs.
Although summertime may be a surprising time to reach out to food banks, Real Simple shares that 15.6 million U.S. households suffer from food insecurity, according to 2016 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. There are ways to help:
— Contact a local food bank and inquire about needs.
— Learn about specific feeding initiatives in the area; consider volunteering.
— Donate money to local food banks and national feeding programs.
— Be aware of an elderly person or a family living close by who may need transportation to a food bank or a local feeding program.
Often, food banks need such items as peanut butter, cereal, fruits and vegetables, and canned goods. Because food-insecure families often lack funds to purchase fresh produce, think about buying extra at a local farmers market to donate, or take surplus garden produce to a food bank.
Finally, Real Simple reminds to spread awareness about food insecurity needs during summer months. As moveforhunger.org asserts: “Hunger doesn’t take a vacation.”