Release No. 0433.11
Contact:
USDA Office of Communications (202) 720-4623
Printable version
USDA Announces
Winners in Summer Food Service Program Story and Photo Contest
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2011 – Today, USDA's Food and
Nutrition Service announced the winners of the first ever
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) "Food, Fun and Sun!"Story and
Photo contest to highlight how the program provides free, healthy meals to
children in low-income areas during the summer. Launched earlier in the summer,
USDA received over 100 submissions representing sponsors and sites in over forty
states.
"We must do all we can to ensure that children get
nutritious food during the summer so they are ready to learn and succeed during
the school year. The organizations that participated in the contest demonstrate
the commitment that people in many communities have made to reach this goal."
said Kevin Concannon, USDA Undersecretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer
Services. "All organizations participating highlighted the critical role of the
Summer Food Service Program in ending childhood hunger by providing our children
the nutrition needed to be healthy, active and ready to win the future."
"Food, Fun and Sun!" showcases successful,
model programs in four categories to share with SFSP sponsors and sites across
the country. Photo contest categories and winners include:
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Volunteers: Using volunteers to support their work:
Youth and Family Services (Rapid City, SD)
-
Older Children: Addressing hunger among older kids,
aged 12-18: Boys and Girls Club of Ada County (Boise, ID.)
-
Rural: Successful programs in rural areas: Running
Strong (Eagle Butte, SD)
-
Creative: Programs that "think outside the box"
serving kids and teens: Kinsley Library, (Kinsley, KS)
For more details about the Food, Fun and Sun!
Summer Food Service Program Story and Photo Contest including winning
submissions, please visit the SFSP Contest webpage at
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/contest/default.htm.
The SFSP, a federally funded program designed to
alleviate hunger during the summer for children 18 years old and younger,
operates through partnerships between USDA, state agencies and local
organizations. Program sponsors, which include schools, government agencies,
residential and non-residential camps, non-profit organizations, and faith-based
organizations, served nearly 134 million meals at eligible sites in 2010.
During the regular school year, about 21 million
children from low-income households receive free or reduced-price meals through
USDA's School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs, compared to about 3
million fed through summer programs. Hunger doesn't take a summer vacation – and
communities across the Nation are working hard to make sure every child has the
food they need, even when school is not in session.
USDA's most recent data shows that while in most
households, children were protected from substantial reductions in food intake,
children experienced very low food security in about 386,000 households (1
percent of households with children) in 2010. In these households, one or more
children do not get enough to eat – they had to cut the size of their meals,
skip meals, or even go whole days without food at some time during the year.
To tackle this challenge, this year FNS has launched
several opportunities under the
Ending Childhood Hunger initiative to include:
-
Stakeholder Guide to Ending Childhood Hunger,
a guide to assist individuals and organizations in choosing value-added
activities and finding resources to help end childhood hunger;
-
Ending Childhood Hunger Video Contest (endhunger.challenge.gov),
an opportunity for students in grades one through 12 to submit short videos
about what they are doing, or what ideas they have about ending childhood
hunger. The submission period runs through October 21, 2011.
-
Become a Champion to End Hunger, an online
commitment drive that encourages organizations and the public to select
actions they will take to reduce childhood hunger;
-
End Hunger Volunteerism Portal,
a website developed by CNCS where organizations can post volunteer
opportunities and individuals can search for volunteer opportunities in
their communities;
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) oversees the
administration of 15 nutrition assistance programs, including the child
nutrition programs, that touch the lives of one in four Americans over the
course of a year. These programs work in concert to form a national safety net
against hunger.
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Last modified:
11/27/2012
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