Less than 1 in 10 low-income keiki getting summer meals
HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — Less than 1 in 10 (9.6 percent) of the low-income students who eat free or reduced-price school lunch during the academic year are also getting free summer meals. Hawaiʻi is well below the national average of 15 percent, placing it at 41st in the nation.
The rankings are contained in “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation,” which was recently released by the Food Research & Action Center. This report analyses participation in the federal summer nutrition programs across the country. The rankings are determined by comparing the number of children receiving summer meals to the number of low-income children receiving school lunch during the regular school year.
In comparison, the top-performing jurisdiction, Washington, D.C., serves summer meals to almost half (47.9 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 $1.4 million in federal funding in July alone.
“Boosting participation in the summer food program is a win-win-win: summer meals nourish children during out-of-school time, they help families stretch budgets further, and they draw federal funds into the local economy,” said Daniela Spoto, Director of Anti-Hunger Initiatives at the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, “Children 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.”
Free summer meals are provided at local sites, such as schools, recreation centers, libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, parks, and recreation centers to children and youth up to age 18. For the third year in a row, Parents And Children Together offered a free lunch program from June through August, feeding approximately 125 children daily at the Towers at Kuhio Park (formally known as Kuhio Park Terrace).
“When school is out, many children in our neighborhoods go hungry,” said Ryan Kusumoto, President of Parents And Children Together. “Our lunch program ensures that vulnerable children receive nutritious meals during the critical summer months.”
The Hawaiʻi Department of Education has posted an interactive map of the 152 summer food locations across the state, as well as a list of the dates and hours of operation of 68 public schools offering free summer meals.
