With Schools Closing for the Summer, Brown Alerts Northwest Ohioans to Nearly 100 Sites in Lucas County that Ensure Needy Children Don't Go Hungry in Summer Months

TOLEDO, OH — Nearly 30,000 needy children in Lucas County are eligible to receive critical nutrition assistance during the school year, but many go hungry in the summer months. With schools closing for the summer, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) alerted Northwest Ohioans to resources available through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a federal nutrition program jointly run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), and local sponsors. There are nearly 100 sites across Lucas County.

“For most Lucas County children, the school year is ending and summer has begun. Nearly 30,000 children qualified for free or reduced-priced school lunches this past year. That’s tens of thousands of local students that might not have access to a nutritious meal at home—or when school cafeterias close for the summer. That’s where the Summer Food Service Program steps in,” Brown said. “With nearly 100 feeding sites in Lucas County, summer break doesn’t have to mean a break from good nutrition. But right now, too many local families remain unaware about this critical program. Public awareness is vital to ensure that the end of the school year doesn’t mean an end to hunger.”

At the Garfield Elementary cafeteria, where today marked the end of the summer program’s first week, Brown was joined by local children receiving a meal through SFSP. According to data released by the ODE, which administers the SFSP in Ohio, more than 800,000 Ohio students received free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program in the 2012-2013 school year. The National School Lunch Program provides free, nutritious meals to children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level and reduced-price lunches for those between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level. Similarly, the SFSP provides free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need throughout the summer months when they are out of school. SFSP is run locally by approved sponsors, including school districts, local government agencies, camps, or private nonprofit organizations.

In Lucas County, there are nearly 100 summer feeding sites. In 2012, Ohio had 1,734 summer feeding sites. This year, 1,280 have been approved. The most updated list of summer feeding sites for Lucas County and counties across Ohio can be found HERE, as provided by ODE. You can also call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE.

Joining Brown to raise awareness for the program, and its impact on the health and wellbeing of local children, were Janice Richardson, Principal of Garfield Elementary; Romulus Durant, Assistant Superintendent and incoming Interim Toledo Public Schools Superintendent; Tony Siebeneck, Founder/Executive Director of Feed Lucas County; and Brad Toft, President and CEO, YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo.

“I know what this community needs, and I can’t express enough how valuable it is for this program to provide our children food, and to keep our children stimulated, motivated, and encouraged to come and do wonderful things during the summer months,” Richardson said.

“We are proud to be associated with great community partners to provide such a critical and basic need in our community,” Toft said. 

While serving as Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition, and Family Farms, Brown wrote the Hunger-Free Schools Act, which would help reduce paperwork and enroll already-eligible students in childhood nutrition programs through direct certification. Brown’s bill was the centerpiece of the anti-hunger component of a new law enacted in 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. During Agriculture Committee consideration of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Brown successfully passed two amendments to the legislation. One of those amendments, a bipartisan piece of legislation offered with U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), ensures greater access to summer feeding programs for children.

The summer food program in Lucas County is sponsored by ProMedica, United Way, Toledo Public Schools, Feed Lucas County Children, Mercy Health Partners, the Toledo Free Press, The Andersons, and the YMCA/JCC of Greater Toledo.

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