The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federal child nutrition program that provides up to two meals a day to children age 18 and under during the summer (or when schools are on extended breaks of 15 days or more). Unfortunately, when school is out, millions of low-income children lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks they receive during the regular school year. SFSP is designed to take the place of school meals, when school is out.
In 2008, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina held the first Kids Summer Stock events around its service area to bring awareness to and collect food and funds for children who do not have access to school meals during the summer. The organization lead the awareness effort and also began planning for its own sponsorship opportunities of summer food programs as another way to feed the growing need among children at risk of hunger. In 2009, the organization sponsored 14 Summer Food Service Sites. As a result of the growing need for more programs, the Food Bank will sponsor 30 sites during summer 2010 located throughout their service area and anticipates serving more than 109,000 meals to children at locations throughout its 34 counties.
Last summer, the Food Bank served 19,013 meals to children participating in the SFSP in Halifax, Franklin, Wake, Nash, Chatham, Granville, Warren and Vance counties.
The Food Bank took the responsibility of completing all paperwork, freeing the agencies to concentrate on the main goal – feeding children. This year the organization has doubled the number of sponsored programs.
Below are 2010 sites for Scotland:
— The 4-H EFNEP Boot Camp, Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.; and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
— Jerusalem UMCSF Program, Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.; and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For information, contact J. Caprice Brown, Outreach, Evaluations & Programs Manager at 919-865-3037. For a complete list of all SFSP sites go to www.foodbankcenc.org.
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