For Immediate Release: June 15, 2016
Contact: Renee Rybak Lang, renee.lang@nasbe.org, 703-740-4841
State Strategies for Boosting Summer Meals Participation
Alexandria, Va. – Children with limited or uncertain access to meals experience more health-related behavioral and academic challenges than their peers. US Secretaries of Agriculture and Education Tom Vilsack and John King spoke on this very point at a Virginia elementary school last week, urging local leaders to take advantage of federally funded summer nutrition programs. Such programs are designed to ensure low-income students receive healthy meals all summer long. Yet according to a new NASBE Policy Update, more than 80 percent of the children who qualify for such summer meal programs do not participate.
State boards can do two things to expand the reach of summer nutrition programs: They can support the adoption of state mandates for participation, and they can partner with other state organizations to improve community outreach.
- Ten states require schools’ participation in summer meal programs. State boards of education can work with bill sponsors to ensure mandates are tailored to state needs, include specific eligibility requirements, and clarify whether opt-out or waiver requests are allowed or should be limited.
- States that establish clear goals for expansion and keep the public informed about summer meals programs have seen an increase in participation. The Illinois State Board of Education has streamlined requirements for local school districts and partners with anti-hunger organizations to raise awareness and secure sponsorships. Florida’s “Summer Break Spot” marketing campaign rebranded the summer nutrition program to reduce the stigma around receiving summer meals.
The policy update also outlines new proposed changes to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that would remove some obstacles to participation in summer meals programs.
Read “State Strategies for Summer Nutrition.”
The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, promote excellence in the education of all students, and ensure responsible lay governance of education. Learn more at www.nasbe.org.
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