national school lunch program

Like a broken street light, childhood hunger impacts the well-being of the community and will only be fixed when the local community recognizes it, takes an interest, and decides to address it. When those who care come together, pool their talents, and take advantage of available resources, things start to happen. Things get fixed.

The city of Dallas is getting serious about ending childhood hunger. Just a month after the October kick-off of the No Kid Hungry Texas campaign, local leaders came together for a hunger summit in Dallas in November. The diverse line-up of speakers was inspiring! There were leaders from Congress, all levels of government, faith-based organizations, food banks, non-profit organizations and schools. Every speaker was passionate and convincing about the need and ability to end childhood hunger.

Fresh and healthy foods are the focus again as we celebrate National School Lunch Week.  The theme of this year’s celebration is “School Lunch – Let’s Grow Healthy,” and schools across the country are touting the many ways they are introducing fresh fruits and vegetables and healthier choices on their menus.

Every child deserves to have the tools they need to succeed in the classroom. That’s reason enough to recognize the nutritional accomplishments of our school meals programs during National School Lunch Week, Oct. 10-14. But there is more to celebrate…

In August I went back to school with students in Albany and Newton, Ga., to see how healthy school meals help students get their “S.W.A.G. on” and prepare for success.

In Albany, 400 Sherwood Acres Elementary Magnet School students celebrated school breakfast, many wearing S.W.A.G. t-shirts, which stands for “Students with Academic Greatness!”

Vanessa Hayes, Dougherty County Schools Director of Child Nutrition Services, explained, “We understand that good nutrition is the fuel for the educational vehicle.”

We often talk about how important it is for different groups including schools, nonprofits, corporations, faith communities, and others to work together end childhood hunger.  Many times children and youth are left off that list, but not today! This is your chance to get involved. We’re calling on all students, grades 1-12, to answer the question: How can you help to end childhood hunger in your community?

Things were cookin’ in Nashville last month, and not just the July weather in this vibrant southern city.  At the historic Opryland Hotel, we joined our partners at the School Nutrition Association’s annual convention to show how USDA Foods are increasingly vital to the health of our nation’s schoolchildren.

The culinary demo was led by local chef and Nashville public school dad David Owens, who wowed convention attendees and members of the media with baked chicken in fruit sauce, vegetarian chili, and vegetable rice. But the exhibition was about more than creating great tasting meals. Along with Nashville Education and Training Coordinator Deborah Walker, Chef Owens emphasized practicing safe and healthy preparation, choosing reasonably priced options, and integrating ingredients relevant and appealing to the modern school nutrition program.

With summer in full swing, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to visit Summer Food Service sites in Indian Country.  Our journey landed us first at a Bureau of Indian Education school in Eagle Butte, South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation.  Eagle Butte is about 170 miles northeast of Rapid City, SD and home to a Seamless Summer site in full operation, serving over 200 kids daily breakfast and lunch.

On May 26, I got to go back home to the Rio Grande Valley – the southernmost region in the continental United States – to help promote new sites for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income neighborhoods get the nutrition they need to learn, play, and grow, throughout the summer months when they are out of school.

My agency, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, along with our state partner, the Texas Department of Agriculture, collaborated with local leaders from the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley to bring SFSP feeding sites to the area, where unemployment figures are the highest in Texas and many families struggle to make ends meet.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog:

Monday was the first day of the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week: “Food That’s in When School is Out”.  When the school year ends, many children and teens who rely on School Meals are at a higher risk of going hungry during the summer when school is not in session. This week, we are raising awareness about the Summer Food Service Program to make sure kids don’t go hungry this summer.  During the school year, more than 21 million children receive free and reduce-priced breakfast and lunch through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs.  And yet, when school lets out, only slightly more than 3 million receive a meal through a summer program.    It is imperative that we do better feeding our nation’s children.

We are excited to announce the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week! Today marks day one of a week-long celebration to raise awareness and make sure that no child goes hungry this summer. You may have heard of National School Lunch and School Breakfast Weeks and wondered why we didn’t have a week dedicated to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Well, we wondered the same thing and we’re excited to start a new tradition this year!

The SFSP is an important part of our nation’s hunger safety-net. Unfortunately, more than 8 million households with children were food insecure at our last calculation in 2009 and we know that a child’s risk of going hungry goes up during the summer months. That’s where SFSP comes in. The SFSP is a federally funded program designed to feed kids and teens healthy meals during the summer. It operates through partnerships between the USDA, State Agencies, and local governments and organizations. The program helps to feed kids at sites all over the country from schools and recreation centers, to camps and community organizations.