There’s No Summer Vacation for Your Student’s Nutritional Needs

During summer vacation, kids who typically receive daily school meals are at an increased risk for both hunger and obesity. Research shows that some children gain weight two to three times faster during the summer than the school year. The federal Summer Nutrition Programs are designed to replace school year meal programs for low-income children, and there is a new push to make sure that all of these sites are serving healthy food that is also kid-friendly.

To promote the effort, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) created Standards of Excellence for summer meal programs, which can be used to evaluate summer nutrition sites and acknowledge quality programs. Read the Standards: http://bit.ly/fracsummerexcellence.

As detailed in a recent FRAC report, some states like Wyoming, Delaware, Florida and Wisconsin are already ahead of the curve. These four states have come up with creative programs to encourage summer food sponsors to serve children the healthiest meals possible:

• “The Wyoming Department of Education has created a Could vs. Should training program for Summer Nutrition sponsors that covers the subjects of childhood obesity and the nutritional needs of children based on their age, and provides sample menus.”
• “The Delaware Department of Education created enhanced nutrition standards for summer meals that limit processed meats, fried foods, and cereals with more than six grams of sugar.”
• The Florida Department of Agriculture has created Best Practice Awards, including Farm to Summer and Outstanding Healthy Meals, to encourage sponsors to improve nutrition quality.”
• “In Wisconsin, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin provides Summer Food Service Program sponsors with grants to help offset costs associated with providing local fresh fruits and vegetables where costs exceed the federal reimbursement.”

What are some ways that your community is addressing student’s nutritional needs over the summer months? Share your examples on our Facebook page or on Twitter at @BagTheJunk.