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Many Arkansas children not getting enough food during summer months

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Many Arkansas children not getting enough food during summer months

Local feeding programs help fill the nutrition gap

ralphhardin@gmail.com According to an Arkansas News Service report, 80 percent of the children who get free lunch at school don't participate in summer meal programs, mostly because their parents and guardians aren't aware of them, according to the antihunger group Hunger Free America.

Joel Berg, the group's chief executive, is pushing the message about summer nutrition across the country. He toured several spots in Arkansas on Tuesday, including the Afterschool Meals program at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center. Berg said hunger is an issue every state in the nation faces, and it's especially prevalent in Arkansas.

'Arkansas does have, unfortunately, one of the highest rates of hunger and one of the highest rates of child hunger in the entire United States,' Berg said. 'One in five Arkansas residents lives in homes that can't afford enough food. That's about a 30 percent increase in the last decade.'

Berg's group has a nationwide toll free number, 1866-3-HUNGRY, set up so anyone can call to see where free summer meals are offered in their commu- nity. He said there are things states, cities and counties and community groups can do to help end hunger, but it's really going to need to be addressed on a national level.

'If we understand that the threat of terrorism requires a national response, if we understand that cities need to be connected by federally funded interstate highways, we need to understand that in a national economy we need a national response to problems such as this,' he said.

One in four Arkansas children deals with hunger issues, Berg said, with 29 percent living below the poverty level. According to the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, families spend on average an additional $300 each month on food during the summer.

Locally, a number of schools and nonprofits will operate food programs this summer. The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, which supports efforts in Crittenden,

Cross, Mississippi and

St. Francis counties, Information on summer meal programs is online at www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks. Any group operating a summer meal program locally can send their information to news@theeveningtimes.co m to have it published free in the paper.

By Ralph Hardin

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