School's Out for Summer, and More Kids Risk Going Hungry

Geln Asakawa | Denver Post | Getty Images

A free school breakfast program in Denver. The teacher believes that about half of the students in the second grade do not get breakfast at home.

Across the country, schools are getting out for the summer. And while students will be happy for the break, some parents will be fretting about how to feed their children without meals provided at school.

The hot summer months bring a fresh challenge for food banks in the nation's poorest and hungriest counties: making sure that millions of children get regular, healthy meals when they aren't in school.

"The time of year in the United States [that] an American child is most likely to go hungry is the summertime, and the principal reason for that is school is out," said Kevin Concannon, undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services with the Department of Agriculture.

That often means summer vacations—not the winter holidays—are the busiest time of year for food banks, because they are struggling to fill the gap for children who are not getting regular meals through federally funded school lunch programs and other services.

"We know hunger, just generally across the board, is a bigger problem in summer," said Celia Cole, CEO of the Texas Food Bank Network, which represents regional food banks across the state.

Texas is home to six of the 10 counties in the U.S. with the highest rate of childhood food insecurity in 2011, according to data to be released next week by Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks. Nearly 1.9 million children, or 27.6 percent of kids in Texas, were living in households without enough to eat, the organization said.

Many food banks see summer as a time to meet their most important need.

"There is just nothing better that we could be doing than feeding a child," said Eric Cooper, CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank. It serves 16 southwest Texas counties, including Zavala County, where nearly 50% of children were food-insecure in 2011, according to Feeding America.

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A household is considered to be food-insecure if at times they had difficulty providing enough food for everyone in the family because of a lack of resources.

The San Antonio Food Bank and its partners will distribute more than 300,000 meals to kids through the USDA's Summer Food Service Program. But that will take care of only about 10 percent of the kids who get meals when school is in session, Cooper said.

Not Just Texas

That situation is reflected nationally, as well. About 21.4 million children receive free or reduced-price lunches on a typical school day, according to the USDA. Some of the nation's neediest kids also receive breakfast, snacks, dinner and even backpacks of weekend food through school and after-school programs.

But last summer, only about 3 million kids were fed through the summer program, which provides meals to kids via school and community organizations, Concannon said.

He and others said that children have trouble getting to feeding sites when school buses aren't running, and parents aren't necessarily aware of the programs.

In addition, groups that host the programs are paid by how many meals they serve. If turnout is low, it's hard to justify the expense. And the program is mainly available in high-need areas, where half of the kids were receiving free or reduced-price lunch during the school year.

When children don't have regular, nutritious meals, they learn more slowly and have more behavioral problems, experts say. They also can develop unhealthy habits, including binge-eating, that put them at risk for obesity and diabetes.

Hungry kids may resort to desperate measures, such as purposely failing classes so they can go to summer school and be assured of a meal, said Cooper at the San Antonio Food Bank.

"For communities like ours, that struggle with graduation rates, I think the power of nourishing the child can just help in so many ways," he said.

Some food banks and community centers have tried to find innovative ways to bring food closer to kids.

Sonya Morgan-Wallace will not have to travel far to get lunch for her four kids this summer. The Oak Meadow Villa community center, in her San Antonio apartment complex, will serve one hot meal a day on-site to her kids, who range in age from 7 to 17. The meals are provided free through the San Antonio Food Bank and funded by the USDA's summer program.

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The program has helped sustain her family as they've struggled with unemployment and other setbacks. Six years ago, Morgan-Wallace was making $15 an hour, with health insurance, working in a doctor's office.

"We were self-sufficient," she said. But she had to leave that job when her now 9-year-old daughter, who has cerebral palsy, needed extensive surgery and care.

Meanwhile, her husband had been out of work after losing a job doing transport at a hospital and suffering from a cornea disease. He has received one cornea transplant and is looking for part-time work while he recuperates and awaits another transplant.

The family also suffered a tragedy last year, when their 12-year-old son died after an asthma attack.

They rely on the community center for the summer meals and other services, including the emergency food pantry. "I'm so thankful that they have this program," Morgan-Wallace said.

Food Banks Innovate

Groups in other parts of Texas are also attempting innovative outreach.

About six years ago, officials at the Boys and Girls Club of Pharr began noticing that many kids were coming to the after-school programs hungry, so they started offering a free hot dinner and a snack. Stephanie Leal, the club's director of operations, said staffers noticed a change in behavior, attitude and focus.

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"Kids were having a better time because they were fed," Leal said.

The program will continue through the summer, offering free breakfast and lunch to about 640 kids who participate in summer activities, plus any other children who show up and want a meal.

Summer meal programs will help, but it won't be enough to meet all the need in Hidalgo County, where Pharr is located.

"That's certainly an important component, but when it comes right down to it, most of [the kids] are being fed at home," said Terri Drefke, CEO of the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley. It serves three Texas counties, including Hidalgo, where about four in 10 children were living in food-insecure households in 2011, according to Feeding America.

The most effective way to keep kids fed is to get food directly to families, and to churches and community centers that are within walking distance of the people in need, Drefke said. "Our major focus is reaching the family," she said, "and trying to make the families accountable for feeding families."