What might come into your mind when you think about summer living? One might think of hot, humid days by the sprinklers or at the beach; or of stacks of hamburger buns with freshly grilled patties; or savoring an ice cream sandwich while fireworks burst overhead.
Chronic childhood hunger probably isn’t one of those images.
Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over 16 million youth face “food insecurity” year-round. In this case, “food insecurity” could refer to not having access to more than one meal a day; or not meeting crucial fruit & vegetable needs in one’s diet.
What makes summer an especially compelling time for chronic childhood hunger is also one of the favorite parts of the summer for kids: no school. Thus, no school lunches and breakfasts for those who qualify.
Capital Area Food Bank and Feeding America continue stepping up efforts to curb such hunger. At the Food Bank, we offer a number of programs to address this seasonal gap. This includes our Kids Café program that distributed over 344,000 meals afterschool and during the summer to over 1,800 youth in 2011.
So, what can you do to help us in these efforts? Alongside assisting with the Food Bank’s efforts in Kids Café and beyond, you can also sign this Feeding America petition alongside 16,000 other individuals to raise chronic childhood hunger awareness, in Congress and elsewhere.
After all, what better way to celebrate the 4th of July than support homeland food security?