The Southwest Human Resource Agency is among the organizations who will receive over $215,000 from No Kid Hungry to help ensure Tennessee kids get the food they need to grow and thrive this summer.
For kids who receive school meals, the summer months can be the hungriest time of year. No Kid Hungry Tennessee provided 15 organizations across the state with a total of $215,095 to help reach more kids in rural communities with summer meals.
Traditional summer meal programs have only reached a fraction of kids in rural communities, but non-congregate summer meal flexibilities have been a game changer in recent years. No Kid Hungry’s grant funding supports summer meal programs that make meals more accessible for rural families by delivering meals to children who need them or allowing parents to pick meals up at a central location to be taken home for their kids, oftentimes for multiple days at a time.
For many children, during the school year, free and reduced price school meals ensure reliable access to nutrition. When schools close for the summer, however, these meals disappear and families struggle from the strain on already-tight budgets. This can be particularly true for rural families. A recent No Kid Hungry nationwide survey found that nearly three quarters (74%) of rural families living on low incomes with children ran out of food in the past year.
For help finding a Summer Meal site, visit NoKidHungry.org/Help or /Ayuda. The program is available to all children 18 and under.
Summer EBT (in some places called SUN Bucks) provides an extra $120* per school-aged child for groceries during summer break. Many children receive benefits automatically, but others need to sign up. Learn more below. Benefits are provided on an electronic card that you can use to shop at grocery stores, farmers markets and online. Children and families can participate in both Summer EBT and summer meals, as well as other benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Visit summerebt.org to find out if Summer EBT is available in your state, territory or tribal nation and how to qualify.
