Keeping Kids From Going Hungry Over Summer Break
Donna Walker, a mother of two in Riverview, Florida, sees a big change in attitude with her 12-year-old son Dylan. He's attending YMCA Camp Cristina day camp, where he's having an "awesome" time and comes home "beaming from ear to ear." Along with fun activities such as gaga ball (a form of dodge ball), horseback riding and the water slide, he enjoys the breakfast and lunch served at camp. And those free meals make a difference, Walker says.
"Because, you know, being a growing boy, he eats a lot," says Walker, who works double shifts to keep food on the table. "I do receive food stamps, but still that's not enough sometimes."
The food's a little different from what Dylan's used to, such as steak, chicken, corn and pizza, but he likes the camp fare even though he's normally a "picky eater," Walker says. The meals are well balanced, she adds (each includes meat, whole grains and some type of fresh produce). Her son admits he likes the fruits and vegetables. But his favorite selection: chocolate milk.
While summer should be a fun time for kids, it can be a hungry time for those who relied on school lunch programs for filling, healthy meals. If you're a parent struggling to fill the summer hunger gap, there are resources available to help feed your kids. Here's where you can find them.
[Read: 6 Tips for Eating Healthy on Minimum Wage .]
Where Kids Can Eat
"During the summer, families still have the same food budgets as during the school year, but now they've got two months to try to come up with enough food to feed their kids during that time," says Stacey McDaniel, spokeswoman for the YMCA of the USA's Year-Round Food Program.
Across the country, the YMCA runs about 1,100 summer food programs, tailored to the communities they serve, McDaniel says. While programs are often held at traditional sites, like camps, parents can also find them at low-income housing projects, fellowship halls at churches, public park pavilions and community centers.
The YMCA summer meals are tied in with physical activities, which "really draws kids and takes away that stigma," McDaniel says. "So it's not just a free meal. They can easily say they're coming for the activities and fun, and while they're there, they might as well eat."
When money is tight for families, "it's much cheaper to eat unhealthy things like a bag of chips or some sugary cereal," she says. Food quality, not just quantity, is an important part of the summer programs, which offers fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat and nothing fried. "[We're] really trying to make it the most nutritious option possible, considering that for some kids, this may be all they get," McDaniel says. "We want to make that nutrition count."
YMCA-run food programs fall under the larger Summer Food Service Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly 2.3 million children participated at almost 39,000 sites in summer 2012, according to the USDA website, which classifies sites as "open sites," "enrolled sites" or "camp sites."
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Healthy Food -- and Enough of It
Camp Cristina is designated as open site, says Darren Dannelly, executive director of the camp. That means anyone under age 18 can receive the free breakfast or lunch. They don't have to be campers, and they don't have to be enrolled in the school lunch program.
"It serves families in need as well as the general population," Dannelly says. It's convenient for all the parents, he adds, and for those who have the need for the program it's "one less thing they have to worry about when it comes to feeding their child -- a healthy meal in the morning and a healthy meal in the afternoon."
With no limits to the amount of food kids can have in a meal, they're more than welcome to come back for seconds. And some kids come to camp ready for their second breakfast, Dannelly says: "That happens especially with our teenage boys -- their appetites increase."
All sites associated with the USDA program "must follow a specific meal pattern," says Angela Miller, coordinator of the Idaho Summer Food Program. "So they have to serve a grain, a meat or a meat alternative, a serving of fruit or a veggie, and a milk." Breakfast and snack requirements differ, she says, but each meal includes minimum portion sizes.
[Read: America's 50 Healthiest Counties for Kids .]
Getting Connected
Sponsors contract with the state to serve meals at one or more sites and are then reimbursed. Individual sites include libraries, parks and schools. While it's not part of the official program, Miller says, "we do have a lot of sites who try and provide lunches for parents at low costs."
The need for these meals is clear. Nearly 50 percent of Idaho students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches, Miller says, and when the school year ends, "the summer food program is there to fill the gap."
In some states, parents can locate nearby sites via text. For example, in Idaho, you can simply text the word "food" to 877877, Miller says.
To access summer food programs in any state, call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479), or for Spanish speakers, 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273).
[See: Budget-Friendly Foods That Pack a Punch .]
Lisa Esposito is a Patient Advice reporter at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at lesposito@usnews.com.
