From the Desk oF Doug O
For most kids, summer means fun -- camps and outside play, fishing, hiking, baseball and soccer, and lazy days in the sun, on the beach or at the swimming hole. At least that’s the way it is for most kids in Vermont. But not all. Some kids in Vermont can’t wait for school to start again. They can’t wait because they’ll see their friends, they’ll start new classes, and they know they’ll get a meal, maybe two, a day. For nearly 19,000 Vermont kids, the summer wasn’t just a bit too rainy; it was too often a time of hunger as well.
Childhood hunger is as unacceptable yet pervasive scourge in our nation – a problem that ought not exist in any nation let alone ours. Yet, last year more than 12.6 million children were at risk of hunger in America. In Vermont, 14.5% of children are food insecure—that’s nearly 1 in 7 Vermont kids – about 19,000 in all according to USDA. These may just seem like numbers or statistics, but in reality they’re the faces of thousands of Vermont children, our children.
During the school year many of Vermont’s kids are enrolled the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs—nearly 30,000 eligible Vermont students receive these meals at a free or reduced rate. The school meal programs and the men and women who staff our school kitchens and cafeterias are some of our state’s greatest hunger fighting heroes.
However, when school is out for the summer, many moms and dads are increasingly struggling to put food on the table and make up for what the schools provided in healthy nutrition. Rising food costs, gasoline at $4 a gallon, and an uncertain economy have conspired to add up to a summer of struggle for many Vermont families. We all can empathize with that challenge. You see, during the summer, a family who had relied on school meals during the school year, providing 10 extra meals a week can be a tough challenge to meet. What about after-school and on the weekends? Now with the cost of living spiraling and on the rise, more families are being forced to choose between food and other necessities.
The Vermont Foodbank recognizes these challenges. We are focusing new resources and energy towards addressing childhood hunger. We are partnering with schools and other non-profits to help turn the tide. We have dedicated a full-time staff position to our child nutrition programs initiatives, which you will read about in this newsletter. Whether reaching out to new Summer Feeding sites, introducing schools to the Foodbank’s new BackPack Program, or securing funding to provide an evening meal or snack at Kids Cafes around the state, the Vermont Foodbank is working together with our partners to ensure that no child goes hungry.
As you read through this newsletter, I encourage you to look for ways that you can get involved. Working together, creating partnerships and collaborations, we will help guarantee a brighter future for our Vermont kids. Vermont should be, and can be, a place where no child goes hungry. Thank you for your support of the Vermont Foodbank and your support to ensure that our kids grow up strong and healthy.
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