The State is seeking community partners to participate in the 2015 program to help feed underprivileged Hoosier students during the summer months.
In 2014, 257 agencies and 1,375 feeding sites served more than 3 million free meals and snacks to low-income Hoosier children, according to a press release.
The Indiana DOE is encouraging current SFSP sponsors to expand their programs by adding new locations and extending meal service throughout the summer months to address ?child hunger.
Last summer, a growing number of sponsors used “new and innovative” approaches to operate feeding sites, according to the release.
Groups took free meals directly to children in parks, neighborhoods and community centers.
An increase in participating agencies allowed the SFSP to serve 84,000 more meals in 2014 than in previous years.
According to the Kids Count Data Center, an increasing number of students in Monroe County have been enrolled for free lunch since 2010, while the number of students receiving reduced-price lunch has dropped.
The number of students in Monroe County receiving free or reduced-price lunches at school has remained at about 37 percent from 2012 to 2014.
Monroe County Community School Corporation has 31.3 percent of its students enrolled in the free lunch program, according to the IDOE Compass data center, while 5.8 percent are receiving reduced-price lunches.
The SFSP, created in 1968, is a federally funded program that operates through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is administered by states.
Organizations are reimbursed by providing nutritious meals to eligible children in low-income areas during the summer.
The deadline to become an SFSP sponsor is April 30, 2015.
Hannah Alani
