For many of my students (and, perhaps, yours, too), the only reliable meals they might get are the free breakfast and lunch served while they are at school. This has been so for as long as I’ve been a teacher.
Currently, the Annie E. Casey Foundation estimated that, in 2018, approximately 14 million children (that’s 19% of the children under age 18 in our country), lived in a food insecure setting. In Louisiana and New Mexico, the numbers were the highest: as many as 28% of the children there lived without reliable meals at least some part of the year.
As a summer school teacher, I always worked in high-need areas, where my summer school site was also a summer feeding site. We served a lot of kids. As a classroom teacher, I always had food in a desk drawer, ready for someone who hadn’t eaten that day. And my schools always sent home extra food with a few students whose living situations merited an extra hand.
Did you know there are free summer meal programs all over the United States?
Below are links to tools for states that have local summer meal programs. Please click on your state to find where kids in your area can get food for the summer. Most sites offer food to any child under the age of 18 who visits the site. Some states have eligibility requirements.
Alabama : Break for a Plate
Alaska: Summer Food Service Program
Arizona: Summer Food Service Program
Arkansas: Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
California: Summer Meal Service Sites
Colorado: Summer Food Service Program
Connecticut: End Hunger Connecticut!
Delaware: Summer Food Service Program
Florida: Summer Breakspot
Georgia: Bright from the Start
Hawaii: Summer Food Service Program
Idaho: Summer Food Service Program
Illinois: Rise and Shine Illinois
Indiana: Summer Food Service Program
Iowa: Summer Food Service Program
Kansas: Summer Food Service Program
Kentucky: Summer Food Service Program
Louisiana: No Kid Hungry
Maine: Summer Food Service Program
Maryland; Maryland Summer Meals Sites
Massachusetts: Summer Food Service Program
Michigan: Summer Food Service Program
Minnesota: Summer Food Service
Mississippi: Summer Food Service Program
Missouri: Summer Food Service Program
Montana: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Nebraska: Summer Food Service Program
Nevada: Three Square
New Hampshire : Find Summer Meals in Your Community
New Jersey: Summer Food Service Program
New Mexico: Meal Site Locator
New York: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
North Carolina: No Kid Hungry NC
North Dakota: Summer Meal Sites Information
Ohio: Summer Food Service Program Clickable Map
Oklahoma: Meals for Kids OK!
Oregon: Summer Meals Map
Pennsylvania: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Rhode Island: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
South Carolina: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
South Dakota: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Tennessee: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Texas: Summer Feeding Interactive Map
Utah: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Vermont: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Virginia: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Washington: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
West Virginia: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Wisconsin: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
Wyoming: Find Summer Meals in Your Community
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Planting Seeds 