No child in a country of such great resources should ever go hungry. Yet, in our nation, 15.8 million children live in households that struggle with hunger.
Summer is here, and while many of our nation’s children are enjoying outdoor fun, too many others are losing access to the consistent meals they were able to rely on during the regular school year. Fortunately, one of our federal Child Nutrition Programs, the Summer Food Service Program, exists to feed these children when school is out.
Hungry children face a lifetime of challenges, including low birth weights, diminished immune systems, emotional and developmental growth delays, educational delays, greater hospitalization, decreased earning potential as adults, and higher life-long health costs.
As Lutherans, we have a role to ensure that our nation’s children have access to adequate nutritious food. We are called to hold our policy makers accountable and urge them to support efficient and successful programs that work to alleviate food insecurity in the U.S.
Contact Congress today at the ELCA Action Center, and urge them to renew and strengthen our Nation’s child nutrition programs!
Successful and cost-effective federal programs are critical to the wellbeing of children in nearly every school and community across the U.S. These programs include: the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides nutritious foods, education and access to health care for millions of low-income new mothers and infants; as well as the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program, both of which guarantee that millions of low-income children have access to healthy food throughout the year.
Summer meal programs continue to grow in participation, with nearly 3.2 million recipients in 2014. Programs like this one are critical to ensuring that low-income children receive access to the nutrition they need in order to thrive throughout the summer, as well as during the school year.
To learn more about supporting the nutritional needs of America’s children by strengthening our federal child nutrition programs, read our Child Nutrition factsheet!
Our ELCA advocacy initiatives are made possible through support from ELCA World Hunger. Please donate now to ensure that we can continue to work for systemic change that truly supports our brothers and sisters facing poverty and hunger.
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