Summer meals aid low-income, food-insecure kids, families

MIDDLETOWN — This summer, two meal programs are opening throughout Middlesex County.

Parents can send their children to a safe, supervised area for a free healthy meal, as well as fun activities like crafts, games and fitness exercises. Sites will be open weekdays from July through August and no advance registration is required.

Summer meals programs are administered by the state Department of Education and will be served at the following locations and times:

⏩ Russell Library, 123 Broad St., Middletown; 1 to 2 p.m.

⏩ Portland Housing Authority, 9 Chatham Court; noon to 1 p.m.

Summer meals are an extension of the National School Lunch Program. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many sites are operated at schools, playgrounds, parks and libraries. While meals may vary from site to site, all meet federal nutrition guidelines.

Summer meal programs are vitally important as summer often adds extra stress for families with children. Many parents who are eligible for the free and reduced-price school lunch program during the school year struggle to provide extra meals during the summer.

Only one in five Connecticut kids and teens who rely on free or reduced-price school meals during the school year get the nutrition they need during summer. Summer meals provide free, nutritious meals and snacks to kids and teens, 18 and younger, throughout the summer at various locations across the state.

Feeding America has a tool you can check out called Map the Meal Gap. The data, which you can see at feedingamerica.org/ mapthegap, tells us that more than 16,000 people in Middlesex County are food insecure. Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.

Food insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all of the time, and this may reflect a household’s need to make tradeoffs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills, and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods. There are 414,730 food insecure people in Connecticut — 117,380 of them are children. If you or someone you know is food insecure and want more information, please call 2-1-1.

There are ways you can get involved in reducing food insecurity in Middlesex County. If you contribute to Middlesex United Way, you are already supporting our local food banks, as part of your gift supports programs at Amazing Grace Food Pantry and Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries.

When schools are out for the summer, the pantries are hit hardest, so any additional donations you wish to make would be welcomed with open arms. Check with your local pantry to find what is most needed. In Middletown, the Amazing Grace Food Pantry is at 16 Stack St.

Hearst Conneticut Media file photo A boy enjoys lunch with friends as part of a summer meals program in Connecticut.