Kids who rely on school meals struggle to get enough to eat during the summer months.
According to No Kid Hungry
®
, 5 out of 6 kids who rely on free or reduced-price school meals aren't getting free meals in the summer.
During the 2016-17 school year, more than 22 million American children ate free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. But in the summer, only a fraction of that number—3 million children in 2017, according to the Food Research & Action Center— had access to free meals.
The Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) meets the needs of food-insecure children in the summer by providing them with nutritious meals and snacks. This may include breakfast, lunch, snacks, and/or supper meals.
Partnering with local nonprofits, elementary schools, and faith-based organizations, the LCFB prepared and served 79,721 meals, including more than 9,000 pounds of fresh produce, to children at 43 Summer Meals sites last summer. The LCFB's 1,600 square foot, full-scale Zucker Family Production Kitchen enables the LCFB to prepare nutritious meals on-site for numerous local Summer Meals sites; however, we need funding to ensure every child who is struggling with hunger in the summer has access to healthy, nutritious food.
