Indiana’s Summer Food Service Program is seeking more sponsors to help provide food to needy low-income kids. Last year, with the help of 245 sponsoring agencies, the program provided more than 3.1 million free meals and snacks to low-income Hoosier children, but despite the progress, many Indiana youths continue to face hunger on a daily basis.
Emily Weikert Bryant, the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, the state association of food banks, said one in four Hoosier children is at risk of hunger – that’s nearly 360,000 children throughout every county in the state. When school is out and they no longer have access to nutritious meals at lunch, these children are particularly vulnerable to hunger.
The Indiana Department of Education is now seeking qualified organizations to sponsor the SFSP in 11 Indiana counties where underserved areas are prevalent and additional sites are needed. The SFSP feeds low-income children during the summer months when school is not in session.
The DOE will continue to host training workshops for sponsors in Indianapolis and around the state. For more information, contact Marcia Yurczyk or Tina Skinner at (317) 232-6610 or by email at myurczyk@doe.in.gov or tskinner@doe.in.gov. The deadline to become an SFSP sponsor is April 30.
