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Worldwide, one in five children is malnourished.
Read that again: 1 in 5 kids.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, approximately 13 million children in the United States live in food insecure homes. Many of these children come from families where parents work multiple jobs to make ends meet, a reminder of how important economic justice and fair wages are to solving hunger.
For many of these children, school meals provide the nutrition they are missing at home – for some, they are their only meal of the day.
There's no doubt that school meals are a right for all, and good progress is being made towards ensuring that no child goes hungry at school. To date, nearly a dozen U.S. states have adopted programs to provide free meals to students, and you can track your state's progress at the Food Research and Action Center. Countries around the world are also leading the way. Brazil, for example, has the world's largest national school meals program enshrined in its constitution and is a linchpin in efforts to halt the worsening of hunger due to COVID-19.
But what happens during school holidays? What happens when the school year ends? There's a reason why No Kid Hungry calls summer the “hungriest time of the year.”
Luckily, activists and policymakers around the world are working to ensure that children have the healthy meals they need to thrive, even when school is out.
Here are some of the many global efforts to keep children fed all year round.
In the United States, 2024 will be the first year of the SUN Bucks program, which provides families with school-age children with $120 in grocery benefits per child. Also known as Summer EBT, the program allows families to receive these benefits in addition to other relief programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
While the SUN Bucks program is available in most states, some have chosen not to participate. By denying this funding, policymakers in states like Texas, Iowa, Georgia and Florida are preventing children from getting the nutrition they need. This is a bipartisan issue. Every child has the right to eat.
“This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. Feeding kids in the summer is a no-brainer,” said Kellyanne Blazek, special assistant to the president for agriculture and rural policy.
(A map of participating states, territories and tribal nations can be found here.)
In Canada, a program called After the Bell works to address child hunger across the country during the summer. The food packs are designed by nutritionists and contain healthy ingredients. Another organization, Food4Kids, runs the Summer Without Hunger program, which provides meals to children in Ontario.
In India, the Akshaya Patra Foundation's midday meal programme has transformed the nutritional value of lunches for millions of school children and its work also extends to providing nutritious and sustainable summer food assistance.
In the UK, the charity FareShare helps fill the school meal gap by distributing food to holiday and summer meal providers across the UK.
In Costa Rica, the CEN-CINAI National District is a government-funded network that provides nutrition and child development services, as well as deliveries of meals and groceries to families during school holidays.
In Kenya, the government recently partnered with an organization called Food4Education to launch Africa's most robust school feeding program, and other nonprofits like Light Up Hope have also stepped in to help fill gaps during school holidays.
And food banks in countries including Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong are stepping up efforts to provide nutritious food to children during school holidays, according to the Global FoodBanking Network.
It's no surprise that these programs are incredibly effective — and literally saving lives. In the U.S. alone, SUN Bucks Summer EBT programs are expected to serve approximately 21.3 million children this year.
We need to use our voices to let policymakers and leaders know that ensuring children receive nutritious, convenient meals while they are at school and when they are out is a top priority.
At this year's All Things Food Summit at SXSW, the White House's Kelliann Blazek spoke about how Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen initially planned to decline receiving summer EBT benefits, but ultimately changed his mind and decided to accept them after seeing local outreach efforts.
Thanks to Citizen Meals, fewer children will go hungry this summer!
I was so happy to hear this story because it proves that our voices matter: One phone call, one email, or one question at a town hall event can really help move our food system forward and build a more nourished future.
And organizations like Food Tank are helping to improve these local, on-the-ground efforts in every way possible. Email me at danielle@foodtank.com. Let's talk about the current state of school and summer food programs in your community. How can you make them stronger? How can you mobilize your neighborhood to make sure no child goes hungry in the summer?
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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
