Summer is usually a time of fun, rest and relaxation if you’re a school-age child. But if you’re a school-age child who qualifies for free or reduced-price meals during the school year, summer can instead be a time of anxiety and hunger.
According to The Seattle Times, 477,828 Washington children qualified for free or reduced-price meals during the school year that just ended. The Superintendent of Public Instruction’s office reported that 40.68 percent of Clark County’s 81,645 students receive free or reduced-price lunches, Columbian reporter Katie Gillespie noted in a Monday story about summer meal programs.
Those figures underscore the importance of such programs. Share Vancouver, local school districts and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington are offering free summer meals and snacks to children 18 and younger at a number of locations around the county. There are no income restrictions for the meals, which are funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A chart showing meal locations and times was included in Monday’s print edition of The Columbian, and a handy map is available with the story online.
Some people complain that it’s not their responsibility to feed someone else’s children, but that is a disheartening and short-sighted attitude. Most adults who have a difficult time putting food on the table are not irresponsible parents; they may be homeless, working low-wage jobs, recently laid off or having experienced a health issue. But no matter the reason, hunger isn’t the child’s fault, and children shouldn’t be made to go hungry because feeding them a nutritious meal offends someone’s self-righteous sensibilities.
“It is vital for us to address childhood hunger, because hunger has been shown to be a severe roadblock for the learning process and childhood development,” Katie Dwaileebe, hunger response assistant director for Share Vancouver, told Gillespie.
The USDA seconds Dwaileebe’s observations. The agency’s website about the free summer meals program says, “You know that children who miss school breakfast and lunch are more likely to be sick, absent or tardy, disruptive in class, and inattentive. They also score lower on achievement tests. Good nutrition is essential for learning in school. The Summer Food Service Program provides an opportunity to continue a child’s physical and social development while providing nutritious meals during long vacation periods from school. It helps children return to school ready to learn.”
And according to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices, “Summer nutrition programs increase food security and have a lasting impact on children’s lives. In the short-term, the programs can help mitigate summer weight gain, cognitive decline and summer learning loss for children from low-income families. In the long-term, they may help increase high school graduation rates and reduce susceptibility to chronic diseases, which are otherwise each accompanied by large potential costs to the children and their communities.”
The sites hosting the meal program this summer in Clark County include schools, churches, apartment complexes, parks and the YMCA. They deserve our appreciation and support.
A good way to show that support is by volunteering. While adults are crucial to the success of summer meal programs, the USDA’s website encourages program organizers to strive to get teens involved leading activities and other tasks so they can learn responsibility and new skills. It would also be an excellent opportunity for high schoolers to earn community service hours.
Providing children in need with meals and activities during the summer is a compassionate and common-sense way to ensure our kids are healthy, safe and ready to learn when fall returns.
