Hawaiʻi makes great strides in getting summer meals to needy keiki
Hawaiʻi’s national ranking jumps from 47th to 37th out of 50 states and D.C.
HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — Hard work by different community partners is paying off in Hawaiʻi, which saw a 25 percent increase in the number of low-income children and youth served free summer meals from 2015 to 2016. That resulted in the state shooting up 10 spots, from 47th to 37th, in the latest annual national rankings of state summer nutrition programs.
The rankings are contained in “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation”, a report released today by the Food Research & Action Center in Washington, D.C. The report highlights Hawaiʻi as showing the greatest increase in the number of low-income children receiving free summer meals in the nation. The state grew its average daily summer nutrition program participation by over 1,000 keiki during the month of July. This is a continuation of an increase in participation that began in 2015, when the state saw a jump of 28 percent.
The report highlights how Hawaiʻi’s coordination efforts have been paying off:
To share information and strategically plan for summer 2016, the state agency convened partners at the beginning of the summer. Strong partnerships were established among the organizations that attended the meeting, including the Kapiʻolani Community College, which agreed to serve as a vendor for additional sites. Hawaiʻi First Lady Dawn Ige championed the Summer Nutrition Programs and encouraged sites and sponsors to increase participation in areas where there was need. On the Big Island, Kona Pacific Public Charter School doubled its mobile meal program, from five sites in 2015 to 10 in 2016, and meals served from 5,000 to 10,000.
Despite this laudable progress, there is still much room for improvement. Hawaiʻi is still well below the national average, with less than 1 in 9 (10.8 percent) of the low-income students who eat free or reduced-price school lunch getting summer meals.
In comparison, the top-performing jurisdiction, Washington, D.C., serves summer meals to almost half (48.8 percent) of its low-income children who receive school lunch. If Hawaiʻi could increase its summer participation to 40 low-income keiki per every 100 who eat school lunch, the state would receive an additional $1.35 million in federal funding in July alone.
“It’s wonderful to see Hawaiʻi making such good progress in our low-income keiki’s summer nutrition programs participation. Not only does the nutrition nourish their bodies, but the summer activities also help them maintain what they learned during the school year,” said Gavin Thornton, co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, which advocates for low-income residents of the state.
“Research shows that disadvantaged students’ academic skills fall further behind their peers’ during summer vacation, and one proven way to draw more children and youth to summer educational programs is by offering food,” Thornton continued.
The national report measures the success of the Summer Nutrition Programs, which include the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program in summer months, at the national and state levels. Success is measured both in absolute numbers and by comparing the number of children receiving summer meals to the number of low-income children receiving school lunch during the regular school year.
Summer meals are provided at local sites, such as schools, recreation centers, libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, and parks for children ages 18 and under. Not only do children stave off hunger as a result of free summer meals, they also benefit from the enrichment activities offered at the vast majority of sites—activities that keep them learning, engaged, and better prepared to return to the classroom in the fall.
