Summer is here, and school will be out for more than two months. For many low-income families, that's bad news. Not only do their kids have little or nothing to do, but it can be an especially hungry time for them. Approximately 16 million children receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year from the National School Lunch Program, but only a shamefully small fraction of them receive a free lunch or breakfast during the summer either from a summer extension of the NSLP or through the separate Summer Food Service Program.
...
Even more troubling is that the number of children receiving lunch during the summer has steadily gone down in recent years, dropping to 2.8 million in 2005 from a high of 3.1 million in 2000, even though the number of needy children has gone up by 1.3 million during those years, as poverty levels have risen. A recent report by the US Conference of Mayors found that in the twenty-three cities surveyed, requests for food assistance by families with children increased by an average of 5 percent in 2006.
...
Malnutrition affects a child's ability to learn, her physical and emotional health, and overall prospects for a decent life. A nation that can find hundreds of millions--billions--of dollars for tax cuts for the rich, military adventures and bridges to nowhere can surely afford to feed its hungry children.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070625/schwartz
A call to conscience.....
Would you like to comment?
Food insecurity in America.......
Re: Food insecurity in America.......
