Warm weather is here and while it’s nice to look forward to picnics and barbeques, the unsettling fact is, that summer is the hungriest time of year for children. It makes sense. A reported daily average of 30 million kids in the U.S. rely on free or reduced-price school meals to get the nutrition they need, so when school is out those same children miss those healthy meals that they would usually receive throughout the week. This is where the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program steps in. It provides free, nutritious meals to kids at local locations across the country, but only 14% of eligible children and teens participate, often due to lack of awareness about the program and information on where to find these summer meals. Every child needs healthy, daily meals to continue learning and growing over the summer, but too many families are unable to provide that due to unemployment or low wages, so they need help. WhyHunger, like so many of our fellow anti-hunger organizations across the country, is committed to working to increase awareness about the summer meals program, and we’re doing so through our Summer Meals Rock for Kids campaign!

Summer Meals Rock for Kids works to increase awareness about the summer meals program and provide reliable information to families across the country to connect them to meal locations near them. Campaign resources also help WhyHunger to continue building the most comprehensive and largest database of emergency food providers and summer meals locations in the country. We need your help to spread the word about summer meals through this campaign to ensure that all children have access to safe and nutritious meals when school lets out. Nutritious food is a human right and now, more than ever, we must take action to make sure all children have the food they need to grow, learn and thrive.

To find your closest Summer Food Service Program summer meals location:

• Call the WhyHunger Hotline at 1-800-5HUNGRY (1-800-548-6479) for service in both Spanish and English. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00am EDT to 6:00pm EDT]
• Text “summer” and your zip code to 1-800-548-6479 to get a location instantly
• Visit https://whyhunger.org/summermealssearch to find a site online.

How to help:

• Donate to support WhyHunger’s Hotline and online database.
• Spread the word to your network and community by downloading and sharing graphics on your social media accounts using #SummerMealsRock.

You can find these materials and more at: whyhunger.org/summermeals. Thank you for helping to fight childhood hunger!