As summer winds down and kids are heading back to school, it’s time to assess the success of summer meal programs. Did your area summer feeding programs meet the needs of hungry kids this summer? We sure hope so. We’ve noticed a big boost this summer in media coverage

of summer meal programs across the county, which has hopefully contributed to raised awareness and increased participation for 2017. Our Meal Breaks were a useful grab ‘n’ go choice for this North Carolina summer food program. Check out this video below from ABC Channel 1 2 in North Carolina.

After four years of significant growth, national participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs decreased last summer, according to the Food Research & Action Center’s (FRAC) annual Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report released in June. During July 2016, the programs served 3 million children across the country — 4.8 percent fewer children than were served in the previous summer.  We’re looking forward to next year’s report, hoping to see a return to an upward trend in summer meal participation.