School’s out for summer! When that last day of school finally arrives, most kids are excited about the start of summer vacation. But, this also means millions more low income children will face their days hungry. According to the 2011 report Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, issued this week by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), only one in seven of low-income students who depend on the National School Lunch Program during the regular 2009-2010 school year had access to summer meals in 2010. Since July 2008, total participation in the Summer Meals Programs have dropped by 90,000 children, or 3.1 percent. In its effort to help end childhood hunger, the got breakfast? Foundation just announced this year’s winners of its Silent Hero Summer Grant Program. The grants will assist organizations in offering meals through the Summer Nutrition Program. Below is the news release.
got breakfast?® Foundation Announces 2011
Silent Hero Summer Grant Winners
Woodbury, NY, June 6, 2011 – The got breakfast?® Foundation this week awarded Silent Hero Grants to organizations to create, support and expand Summer Nutrition Programs. The grants were available to public schools, non-profit private schools, local governments, National Youth Sports Programs or 501c(3) non-profit organizations. The grant monies can be used for such needs as serving equipment, staffing, and nutrition education materials.
In addition, the Foundation also provided grant money to the non-profit Share Our Strength organization to be designated for Classroom Breakfast Programs in the New York City Metropolitan Area. The total amount of grant awards this year is $18,000.
The three Silent Hero Summer Grant recipients are:
East Texas Food Bank – Tyler, TX
Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department – Lincoln, NE
Plus, for expansion of Classroom Breakfast Programs:
Share Our Strength for New York City Metropolitan Area – New York, NY
“The Foundation received hundreds of applications from across the U.S. – from park districts, church programs, summer school programs, day camps, youth sports programs, and food banks,” says Sonya Kaster, R.D., L.D.N., S.N.S., Grant Administrator for the Silent Hero Program. “The winning entrants demonstrated need, creativity and practicality of implementing their summer feeding programs.”
Once summer starts and the school breakfasts and lunches have stopped, millions more low-income children go hungry each day. According to the 2010 report Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation, issued by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), in July 2009, only 16.1 children received Summer Nutrition for every 100 low-income students who received lunch in the 2008-2009 school year. Only one in six children who needed summer food was receiving it. The federal Summer Nutrition Programs are designed to fill the need of hungry children when schools are on vacation.
The Silent Hero Grant Program was created to encourage schools and non-profit organizations to expand the reach of underutilized child nutrition programs, including the School Breakfast Program and Summer Nutrition Programs. In February, the got breakfast? Foundation awarded seven school districts with Silent Hero Grants to implement classroom breakfast and “grab ‘n’ go” programs as a way to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program.
The mission of the got breakfast? Foundation is to ensure that every child, regardless of background, starts the school day with a nutritious breakfast in order to learn, grow and develop to his or her fullest potential.
For information about the got breakfast? Silent Hero Grant Program contact info@gotbreakfast.org or visit the www.gotbreakfast.org website.