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Effort To Increase Summer Food Program Participation
By: Associated Press
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Ohio education and food program officials want to increase the number of children in low-income areas who participate in a program that offers them free meals and snacks while they're away from school during the summer.
Increasing access and participation in the federally funded Summer Food Service Program is the focus of a summit Monday in Grove City.
It comes on the heels of news that a record high of nearly 841,000 Ohio students are eligible for free or reduced-cost school lunches based on their family incomes.
The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks says less than one-fifth of eligible children participated in the summer program last year.
It served more than 3.6 million meals at nearly 1,500 sites around the state.