Gloucester VA Links and News: Summer Food Service Program

Showing posts with label Summer Food Service Program. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Increase in Summer Meals Feeding Sites for 2014

Tomatoes (USDA OPC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

~Number of meals served during June 14 rose 22% from previous year~

Today Governor McAuliffe announced that the number of feeding sites for the national Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) increased from 1,539 in 2013 to 1,590 this year. Additionally, the number of meals served during June 2014 rose from 759,643 to 928,057, more than a 22 percent increase over the previous year.

“Summer meals services are critical components in keeping our children healthy, well fed, and ready to lead active and engaged livelihoods,” said Governor McAuliffe. “When our children have access to healthy food, they are better prepared to learn and succeed, and the Summer Meals Service Program ensures that Virginia children and families can access quality, nutritious meals even during the months when school is not in session.”

Feeding sites are located within school attendance zones where at least 50 percent of the children are eligible to receive free and reduced lunches. More than 512,000 students in Virginia public schools currently qualify.

SFSP was established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that low income children continue to receive nutritious meals all year round. Free meals, that meet Federal nutrition guidelines, are provided to all children under the age of 18 years in areas that qualify. During the summer of 2013, approximately 3,985,805 meals were served during the May through August.

A number of factors helped increase participation in the SFSP this year including a partnership with the Library of Virginia, which linked the feeding program with its summer reading program in local libraries, and the robust efforts of First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe.

“It’s exciting to know that so many more of Virginia’s children are receiving nutritious meals during the summer months when for so many a meal is not a guarantee,” said First Lady, Dorothy McAuliffe. “It is through strong collaboration and partnerships across the Commonwealth that we can continue to see success in alleviating childhood hunger and improving access to healthful foods.”

“Summer can be the hungriest time of year for those children who rely on school meals,” said Josh Wachs, Chief Strategy Officer for Share Our Strength. “The No Kid Hungry campaign was proud to work with Governor and First Lady McAuliffe this summer to feed more kids than ever before. Their bold and innovative strategy to expand the summer meals program resulted in a huge win for kids and families across the Commonwealth.”

Governor McAuliffe and the First Lady are committed to ensuring that participation in the Summer Food Service Program continues to grow. Staff from Virginia Department of Health (VDH) will be conducting community meetings this week to strengthen the state’s partnership with sponsors and feeding site operators in efforts to expand participation in 2015. If your non-profit organization is interested in becoming a sponsor or feeding site, please contact VDH at 804-864-7800.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, USDA Officials, Hampton Roads Leaders Kick Off Summer Meals Service

McAuliffe speaking at Frying Pan Park in Hernd...

. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, USDA Officials, Hampton Roads Leaders Kick Off Summer Meals Service and Announce PSA Campaign in Partnership with the Virginia Association of Broadcasters

Norfolk School District Recognized for Summer Meals Efforts

Norfolk, VA –A cafeteria full of students, parents and educators welcomed Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe and other officials to Coleman Place Elementary School today to officially kick off the start of the Summer Food Service Program in Virginia.

The First Lady also announced on Thursday a partnership with the Virginia Association of Broadcasters to run a year-long, hunger awareness campaign benefitting all seven regional food banks across the Commonwealth. The campaign will begin by running Public Service Announcements throughout the summer on local television and radio stations across the state to raise awareness of the summer meals service.

The federal summer meals program helps low-income children get the healthy food they need when school is out. These free, healthy meals are available to children and teens ages 18 and under, but in Virginia, only 17.6 percent of children who receive a free or reduced-price lunch during the school year are participating in the summer meals program.

“For many children, summer is a time for friends, vacations, and carefree days in the sun. But for the millions of children and families who rely on school breakfast and lunch for meals, the summer months are a time of stress, anxiety and hunger when those meals disappear,” First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe said. “We are working with community partners and state agencies to help connect more kids with free meals this summer than ever before, and I am thrilled that the Virginia Broadcasters Association has offered to help raise awareness of this vital program.”

Also in attendance at the event were Congressman Bobby Scott, USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, Dr. Janey Thornton, Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, Norfolk Superintendent of Schools Samuel King, and Fuel Up to Play 60 Ambassador, Everette Brown, who led the students in a fun physical activity. June 5th was also officially recognized in Virginia as the kickoff to the Summer Food Service Program through a proclamation signed by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

“Research shows a lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins,” USDA’s Dr. Janey Thornton commented. “We must do all we can to ensure that children get nutritious food year-round so that they are ready to learn during the school year and have greater opportunities for success.”

Mrs. McAuliffe, USDA officials, and the Virginia Departments of Health, Social Services, and Education have been coordinating with local partners to reach more children at risk of hunger by helping to promote school district participation in summer meals service and by coordinating outreach efforts to raise awareness of the program to families. These combined efforts have already produced significant increases in summer meal participation. Last year, 134 sponsors hosted 1,570 sites across the Commonwealth. This year, more than 170 sponsor applications have been submitted, including a 20 percent increase in participating school districts (48 to 58).

At today’s event, the First Lady also recognized the Norfolk School District for being a “Summer Meals Champion,” and presented School Nutrition Director, Helen Phillips, with a plaque and certificate. This will be Norfolk Public Schools' third year as a sponsor for the Summer Food Service Program. In 2013, NPS' School Nutrition Department managed 54 sites, and served 5,500 meals daily. Norfolk was among the largest sponsors in the state in 2013.

"Healthy, well-fed children are ready to learn," said Norfolk Public Schools Superintendent Samuel T. King. "Our School Nutrition Department understands this, and that department has worked tirelessly with state and federal agencies to ensure that children in Norfolk have access year round to foods of the very best quality and nutritional value. The Summer Food Service Program is a crucial part of that effort for Norfolk's children and families."

Efforts to raise awareness of the summer meals program in Virginia have included:

· First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe addressed a letter to School Superintendents across the Commonwealth asking them to consider providing summer meals in their communities

· The Department of Social Services is coordinating with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to promote summer meals program in 120 Social Services offices across Virginia

· Outreach to local libraries has led to an increase in both summer meals awareness and the creation of several new summer service sites to be hosted at libraries across the state

· Targeted Facebook ads will reach an audience of over 360,000 Virginians, informing them about a text service that connects families to summer meal sites in their area. Families can text ‘Food’ to 877-877, call 211, or dial 1-866-3 HUNGRY to locate the closest summer feeding site

Our Notes: If you can figure out what the above really means, and how it may but probably won't help you, by all means, let everyone else know. It sounds more like a non working solutions that only sounds good to those who have set up the service than those who could potentially benefit from it. A different thought would be to increase the food benefits to those who have the need? Wait, that would actually make sense now would it not? Another government solution with no meaning and your tax dollars hard at work against you?