American School Food Service Association Strongly Supports the Summer Food Service Program; Summer Feeding Program Provides Needed Meals.

Calendar Editors/Political Writers/Education Writers

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2003

Summertime means swing-sets, swimming pools and no school. For many children it can also mean hunger because of a lack of nutritious school meals.

While approximately 16 million children received free or reduced-price lunches each day during the 2002-2003 school year, only 1.9 million children a day received a free summer meal during the summer of 2002. Without a healthy meal, many of these children may be going hungry. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides a summer safety net for children who rely on school meals for over half of their nutrient needs. Summer Food Service Program Week from June 2nd to June 7th is an opportunity to raise awareness of program benefits and promote wider participation by eligible children who need nutritious summer meals.

The 55,000 members of the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA) strongly support the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and many members are local program sponsors in their communities. From Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools to Mt. Diablo Unified School District in California, school nutrition programs take very seriously their role in providing nutritious meals to children year-round.

To increase the number of school SFSP sponsors, ASFSA is working with members of Congress to implement changes as part of Child Nutrition Reauthorization that would increase access to the program for millions of children. One such measure is Senator Kohl's (D WI) "Summer Food Service Improvement Act" (S. 1021) which would make it easier for sites to participate by reducing bureaucratic procedures and lowering area eligibility requirements, as well as creating a nationally competitive grant program to assist organizations with technical and equipment costs required to begin participating in the SFSP.

With everyone's help in getting the word out this summer, a record number of students could participate in the SFSP. Parents are encouraged to contact their local state departments of education or school district to inquire about locations of community summer feeding sites.

ASFSA (www.asfsa.org) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. The association and its members are dedicated to feeding children safe and nutritious meals. Founded in 1946, ASFSA is the only association devoted exclusively to protecting and enhancing children's health and well being through school meals and sound nutrition education.