Joey Keys column 7-30-19

Children deserve access to summer meals

No child should worry about where their next meal will come from. Ever. Especially during the summer when they should be enjoying the break from school. Unfortunately, summer is when child hunger reaches critical levels because students no longer have access to the breakfast and lunch they receive through free and reduced-price school meal program.

In Missouri, only 8% of children who receive free or reduced-price meals at school have access to a summer feeding program. There are many challenges to reaching children in the summer, including a lack of summer meal sites, transportation issues, and parents' work schedules. Program administrative burdens and the lack of improvements to expand access to summer meals are two of the main reasons for this low participation.

Southeast Missouri has some of the highest rates of child hunger in the state and the nation. One in five, or 20.9%, of children in the 16 counties Southeast Missouri Food Bank serves deals with hunger or food insecurity, which is not having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

Congress has an opportunity this year to address the summer meal gap by passing a Child Nutrition Bill that invests in our children by allowing flexibility in off-site meal consumption, reduces program administrative burdens and expands access to the summer grocery card program for children. We urge Congressman Jason Smith and others to work across the aisle on a bi-partisan plan to ensure no child has to worry about going hungry in the summer.

Contact your congressman and help us ensure the children of Southeast Missouri get the nourishment they need to thrive in the summer. Letters can be sent electronically by visiting FeedingAmerica.org, click on Take Action, Advocate to End Hunger and Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act.

Joey Keys is the chief executive officer of the Southeast Missouri Food Bank.