Jen Reinhart knows everyone gets hungry at 3 p.m.

At the July 8, 2009 afternoon Congressional briefing, “Hunger after the School Bell,” hosted by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and the Afterschool Alliance, the small cups of yogurt, granola and blueberries were a welcome sight to attendees.

“We know this is the time of day when people get hungry, children included,” Reinhart, vice-president of policy and research for the Afterschool Alliance, said. “Especially in the summer months, a lot of kids are facing hungry mornings, afternoons and evenings.”

Harder to Reach
During summer months, families of nearly 16.8 million children who benefit from national school lunch programs struggle to provide the nutritious meals that their kids receive during the school year. Nationally, an average of 2.9 million children participated in the summer nutrition programs.

Marla R. Caplon, food service supervisor for Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools, attributes the significant drop-off to a failure in accessing students who would normally qualify for free meals.

“When school ends, we don’t see the kids everyday like we do during the school year,” Caplon said. “We are able to make sure they are getting at least one healthy meal a day, but during the summer, the kids aren’t necessarily in an organized activity where we can reach them and make sure they are getting the nutritious meal they need. It really becomes a challenge with our resources to track down and find the kids that really need to eat.”

The current recession has compounded the need for free meals by almost 2 percent, according to July 2008 data. According to John Border, of the Davenport Community School District in Iowa, increasing numbers of middle class families are now struggling for the first time to feed their children.

Reaching for the Fresh Stuff
Access to food isn’t the only issue. While children may have access to foods that are high in starches and sugars, they are in need of healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables. According to Christy Hogkins, of CAMBA, “children are eager to eat fresh fruit.”

“The first thing they always reach for is the fresh fruit,” Hogkins said. “When you see the smile on their face when they open up their lunch bag, it makes it more real to you what you are providing for them. For a lot of these kids, it may be the only nutritious thing they get that day.”

Panelists unanimously hope to see the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization this September. According to FRAC, “reauthorization provides the opportunity to reverse previous cuts, build stronger programs and make significant new investments in the summer nutrition programs so that more low income children have access to healthy food during summer vacation.”

The Child Nutrition Act of 2004 is set to be reauthorized in September 2009. According to FRAC, “Congress has a unique opportunity in the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition programs to improve access, meal quality and nutrition for millions of children…” The following programs will be up for reauthorization:

• School Breakfast and the National School Lunch Programs
• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

For more information about the Child Nutrition Reauthorization 2009, visit FRAC's Reauthorization Resources

Other policy enhancements include:

• Improve the area eligibility test, which would allow more communities with significant numbers of low income children to participate and receive federal reimbursements for such food programs.

• Restore the reimbursement rates which were cut by 10% in 1996 making it difficult for summer food program sponsors to participate without losing money.

• Provide start up and expansion grants which allow for recruitment of new sponsors and encourage current sponsors to serve additional sites.

• Provide funding for transportation costs especially in rural areas where transportation is one of the biggest barriers.

• Expand the year-round summer food pilot which would stream line community-based programs and food service programs in local communities.

• Provide performance awards to states that are doing the best job by increasing participation in order to encourage greater participation nationwide.

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Clare Krusing and Maria Allen are interns with Connect for Kids. Clare is a senior at the Indiana University, majoring in journalism and public & environmental affairs. Maria will complete her degree in Elementary and Special Education from SUNY Geneseo in fall 2009.