Want to Go on a Road Trip?!
Posted by Katherine Van Steenburgh on Friday, June 10, 2011
Editor’s Note: All summer, Share Our Strength staff will be visiting summer meals sites across the country to show our work in action. This post is part of that series. To learn more about Summer Meals, visit strength.org/summer.
Summer is (almost) here! Goodbye bitter winter and so long allergy ridden spring. Hello summer and its warm afternoons, sunshine, and long days. I have always loved summer and would take 90 degrees over the cold of winter any day. But in my time working at Share Our Strength I have learned about a different side of summer- a side that is hidden to many and a side that desperately needs all of our attention.
For many of us, summer can be a fun and carefree time of year. But for those who count on school meals, it can be a stressful, and even dreaded, time because they don’t have access to regular nutritious meals. While 21 million kids in the U.S. get free or reduced-price school lunch, less than 3 million get summer meals when schools are closed. That means millions of children, who rely on schools meals during most of the year might not know where their meals are coming from during summer. Many teachers have told us that they know their students who rely on school meals go hungry during the summer and don’t have enough to eat.
It is because of this reality that Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaigns in cities and states across the country are working to connect kids to summer meals programs. Summer meals programs across the country — funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — provide an important source of nutritious food for kids and teens to keep them healthy and active during the summer. The No Kid Hungry campaign is working to connect kids and families to these sites and also start more sites across the country.
In an effort to share the great work that is being done this summer, Share Our Strength is sending a team of staff members on the road for our second Summer Meals Road Trip! My colleagues Alice, Mike, and I will be trekking across the nation and reporting about the need for summer meals and the programs that are successfully serving kids from coast to coast (and everywhere in between). If you followed us last year, you know we will be tweeting, posting photos on Flicker, posting YouTube videos, and of course sharing stories here on the No Kid Hungry blog.
This summer the Summer Meals road trip crew will be reporting from Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, New York City, Virginia, and Washington, DC, and likely a few more sites, too. On the No Kid Hungry in Summer website, you can check out a map that marks our road trip stops.
We will also be sharing news from New Orleans, California, and other No Kid Hungry states. The Summer Meals Road Trip crew will be talking to local program directors, parents, No Kid Hungry partners, community leaders, and kids in urban, rural, and suburban communities about their summers and how they benefit from summer meals programs. As you follow along, you’ll meet local heroes who are dedicating countless hours this summer to feed kids in their community. Follow our road trip online to learn more about summer meals and share stories about summer meals in your community.
RELATED LINKS:
— Learn more about Share Our Strength’s Summer Meals work
— Help Support Summer Meals Work
June 10, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: summer meals
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