USDA Looking At Feeding Kids Over Summer

During the school year millions of  kids get free or reduced price lunches at school, and for many children, it may be the only nutritious meal they get.

But what happens in the summer?

“That is a very important question and a difficult one that we need to work together to solve, ”said Brandon Lipps, USDA food and nutrition service.  He told a house panel recently that on an typical school day some 30 million children get free or reduced priced lunches at school.  However about only three million receive meals through Ag department's summer feeding program.

That program usually relies on local sponsors to set up sites for kids to come and get meals, but getting to a site if there is one can be a problem.  USDA's been running a few pilot projects experimenting with things like putting extra money to EBT cards of SNAP recipients to pay for extra food but Lipps told the panel.

He said some of the pilot projects show promise, however, “but the reality is that we need to work together to give the agency more resources to help states and local sponsors feed more children.”

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