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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah school districts, city parks and community centers offer free meals for kids, but fewer Utah kids who need free meals are receiving them, according to the results of a recent study.
One by one, little feet move through the cafeteria line at Jackson Elementary in Salt Lake City. They’re kids from the community, and as they patiently wait to be served, they stretch out their hands to receive their free meals. Tuesday’s menu was a chicken sandwich on whole wheat bread, tomatoes and lettuce to garnish the sandwich, one-quarter cup of red seedless grapes and fat-free milk.
It’s mouthwatering for Martha Bustamante’s boys, who plan to start kindergarten and first grade at Jackson Elementary School in the fall.
“It’s healthy for them,” said Bustamante. “They can meet more children because they've never been in school. They're going to start this year.”
Workers at the State Office of Education said the misconception with the free summer meals program is that only low-income families are eligible to receive the food; however, child nutrition advocates said it’s a community program for everyone. Kids eat free while adults pay under $5 for a meal.
A study from the Food Research and Action Center released in June 2015 showed one in 10 Utah kids who need free or reduced meals are getting them.
“I think the need is there,” said Katie Kapusta, dietician for the Child Nutrition Program in the Salt Lake School District. “I think our problem is just reaching people and letting them know that it's even out there.”
The State Office of Education sent fliers to schools about the Child Nutrition Program and locations. The program is part of the USDA and is celebrating 40 years of the summer meals programs. Most summer meal sites operate in June through mid-July. Summer meal programs offer breakfast, snack, lunch and/or dinner. This summer, Utah has 38 summer meal sponsors operating 218 sites throughout the state. Among those sites are 29 school districts and charter schools participating in summer meal programs.
It's healthy for them. They can meet more children because they've never been in school. They're going to start this year.
–Martha Bustamante, mother
They are: Alpine, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, Granite, Jordan, Juab, Millard, Guadalupe, North Sanpete, Park City, Salt Lake City, Sevier, South Sanpete, Tooele, Uintah, Wasatch, Washington, Weber, Ogden, Provo, Logan, Canyons, American Preparatory Academy and Valley Academy. There are other nonprofit organizations sponsoring the summer meal programs that have sites open to the communities as well, including the Utah Food Bank, Salt Lake Community Action Program, Aneth Community School, Boys and Girls Club of South Valley, Community Presbyterian Church and Ute Mountain Tribe.
The program is mostly available at schools, city parks and community centers.
Last summer, the State Office of Education reported over 1 million (1,066,861) meals were served to children (breakfast, lunch, dinner) in Utah.
The program has its challenges.
“It’s a funding issue,” said Marti Woolford, Nutrition Initiatives director for Utahns Against Hunger. “When you do summer food, the federal government reimburses for every meal that's served, but they do not reimburse or pay for staff time.”
Woolford said that presents a challenge for children who may be going hungry in rural communities.
“We have a few sites that just don't run long enough. They're only open in June,” said Woolford. “They still have July and August. Kids still need to eat those months. They don't have access to that.”
State officials also identified transportation to food sites as a problem for some, especially in the rural communities.
Photo: KSL-TV
Other challenges include following federal guidelines that force sites to throw unused food away. Woolford said lawmakers will soon reassess the needs of the Child Nutrition Program.
“USDA is working on a lot of ways to streamline these programs for sponsors to make them easier to operate,” said Woolford. “These are the kinds of comments, if you know that food is getting wasted or not being able to reuse it, or even letting kids get a second meal, we'd like that feedback.”
Advocates just don’t want Utah kids to go hungry.
“We want to feed as much kids as possible,” said Kapusta. “They don't have to attend the school or even live within our district. Any child.”
