For Immediate Release:
June 1, 2006

Contact:
Nanci Gonder
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Classes may be over, but lunch continues for many Missouri children
Summer food program starts when school lunches stop

Reading, writing and arithmetic may be over for the school year, but lunch will continue throughout the summer months for many low-income Missouri children who depend on the school cafeteria for free or reduced-price meals.

Hundreds of local community organizations across the state will provide lunch, as well as breakfast, to eligible children in their area through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' Summer Food Service Program. Nutritious meals will be served to low-income children at more than 700 locations in Missouri, including schools, parks, YMCA facilities, Boys and Girls Clubs, churches and other areas where children gather in the summertime.

“Children need nutritious food to grow and learn, and that need doesn't stop during the summer,” said Melanie Madore, assistant chief of the Department's Bureau of Community Food and Nutrition Assistance. “We are pleased that agencies throughout Missouri are able to offer meals to thousands of children through the Summer Food Service Program.”

Meals will be served at designated sites to children age 18 and under and to people age 18 to 21 who are determined by a state or local educational agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate during the school year in an established school program for the mentally or physically disabled.

The sites where the children will be served are classified as “open,” where any eligible child may be served, or “enrolled,” where a child must be enrolled in a summer program sponsored by a participating organization.

A list of locations where meals will be served can be found at: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/sfsp/site_list.pdf.

For more information about Missouri's Summer Food Service Program, contact the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Summer Food Service Program, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102 or call toll-free 888-435-1464.

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, DHSS is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.