Maryland Lt. Governor, Sodexo Foundation and MD No Kid Hungry Campaign commit to closing the summer meal gap. What is your state doing?
Posted by Pat Nicklin on Friday, February 4, 2011
Although we still find ourselves in the firm grip of winter, it is never too early to look at how we can make sure kids have access to nutritious meals in the dog days of summer. That’s why this week, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland hosted the Maryland Summer Meals Planning Conference and brought together a diverse group from across the state, including Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, to begin preparations for launching the state’s summer meals program.
The goal of the meeting was to get a head start on planning, share what partners were doing to prepare for summer and how they can overcome barriers in order to increase participation in the program. Last year, the state faced a particularly hot July, including several Code Red days, which required many summer meals sites to close for the day. Many sites rightly felt that there is a need for a policy to address such situations to ensure kids still have access to meals.
The conference featured remarks from Lt. Governor Brown, Rosemary King Johnston from the Governor’s Office for Children, Maryland Hunger Solutions, leaders from the Sodexo Foundation, the Maryland State Department of Education, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland and most importantly, summer meals site sponsors from throughout the state. I also got the opportunity to personally thank partners for their role in the campaign.
We were also pleased to announce that the Sodexo Foundation awarded $480,000 to the Maryland No Kid Hungry Campaign for marketing and outreach around the summer meals program, which will help the campaign to better publicize the availability of summer meals. Sodexo has been a leader among companies committed to this cause in Maryland and nationwide, and its extraordinary commitment demonstrates how powerful private-public partnerships can be in working together to end childhood hunger.
By getting a head start on summer meals planning in the dead of winter, we can ensure that our kids won’t have to worry about where they will get their next meal once school lets out.
What is your state doing to prepare for their summer meals program?
February 4, 2011 | 1 comment(s) | Tags: childhood hunger, maryland, partners, Sodexo, summer meals
Comments
1 reader comment so far.
Pat, you posed a great question. So, I looked it up. I didn't expect to find much of an answer, considering the state of California's finances. And I was right. The most current information was posted a year ago.
However, I learned that Summer Food Service Program here falls under the Calif. Dept. of Ed. I see that as a good thing. I learned that the program serves areas where at least half of the kids qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. I also learned that the program can provide meals to kids any time school is out of session for more than 15 consecutive days so it COULD be helping kids anytime school's interrupted for about two weeks at a time, not just in the summer. Still, 2 weeks without lunch seems pretty hard for a growing kid.
And, among the other factoids I learned, I was pleased to see that application and reimbursement procedures had been simplified (I'm hoping that means more agencies will become sponsors and that administrative costs go down a little so more can go towards quality of meals served.
In short, now I really want to find out what California will do to help its kids this summer, especially those who live in the most rural areas where the summer is hot, resources are scarce and incomes are traditionally very low. Thanks for asking!
Posted by Cate Puzo on February 4, 2011
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