healthy food - FOOD SAFETY NET SHREDS IN SUMMER; DISAPPEARS AFTER GRADUATION - SIBEJO

Summer marks a serious gap in the nation�s food safety net for children. Of the 22 million students who receive free or reduced�-price lunch in U.S. public schools, all but 3.9 million of them lose access to those meals over the summer, according FeedingAmerica. Whether it is because they can�t get to community summer meal sites or don�t know about them, more than 18 million children go hungry over the summer. A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Hunger �Free Summer For Kids Act last August to give communities more flexibility for summer meals programs.Their proposal would allow communities to deliver packaged meals to families or distribute electronic benefit transfer cards to eligible children over the summer, allowing their families to buy extra food from retail stores.

Yet, while students in K�12 schools lose access to reliable food sources during the summer, high school students lose access completely when they graduate and go to college. Graduates lose access to the School Lunch Program, and SNAP work requirements make it difficult to go to college. Campus surveys have found nearly 40% of undergraduate students in the City University of New York system are food insecure as well as 21% of students in the California State University and University of Hawaii systems. Colleges and states are starting to pay attention. As of July 5, 2016, there were 339 active member institutions of the College and University Food Bank Alliance. And the California legislature is considering a bill to help local food banks coordinate with college food pantries and require both public and private colleges to participate in restaurant meals programs in their counties.

Source: Education Dive, 7/28/16, Food Safety Net for Students

healthy food - EARLY CHILDHOOD HUNGER MAY LEAD TO VIOLENCE LATER - SIBEJO

Children who often go hungry have a greater risk of developing impulse control problems and engaging in violence, according to new University of Texas-Dallas research. The study found that people who experienced frequent hunger as kids were more than twice as likely to exhibit impulsivity and injure others intentionally as adolescents and adults. Thirty-seven percent of the study's participants who had frequent hunger as children reported that they had been involved in interpersonal violence. Of those who experienced little to no childhood hunger, 15% said they were involved in interpersonal violence. The findings were strongest among whites, Hispanics and males.

Source: MedicalXpress, 6/20/16, Hunger & Violence

healthy food - Current proposal cuts funding for school meals - SIBEJO

The Republican proposal to test block granting school meal programs in three states would likely cut school meal reimbursements, according to critics of the plan, which include FRAC. It�s estimated that, under block grants, California could lose $78 million in federal reimbursements, Texas could lose $72 million, Georgia $30 million and North Carolina $24 million annually.

Advocates: School meal budgets could lose millions under GOP plan � The Hill, June 15, 2016

healthy food - Summer food programs successful in Vermont - SIBEJO

While the distances and low population density of the North Country make providing summer meals to children in need challenging, our neighbors in Vermont seem to have figured it out.

The Food Research and Action Center�s summer meals report found that Vermont�s rank in serving children free summer meals improved from fourth to third and average daily participation in the state increased 14 percent in July 2015 compared to July 2014. The number of summer meal sites also increased six percent.

�The rural nature of our state presents unique challenges for sponsors who provide summer meals to children,� said Marissa Parisi, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. The organization has been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local communities to feed more children summer meals at sites including libraries, day care centers, and housing developments.

What can we learn from their work?


Vermont ranks 3rd for providing summer meals for children at risk of hunger � Vermontbiz.com, June 14, 2016

healthy food - New report on summer food for children - SIBEJO

After three years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs plateaued last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center�s annual Hunger Doesn�t Take a Vacation report (pdf) released today. During July 2015, the programs served nearly 3.2 million low-income children across the country, a modest increase of 11,000 participants from July 2014. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization currently being considered by Congress provides an important opportunity to invest in the Summer Nutrition Programs so that more children return to school in the fall, well-nourished and ready to learn.

While the report shows New York State among the top ten in the nation for participation in summer meals by low-income children, that does not hold true here in the North Country, where it is very difficult for children in need to find a meal site.