On July 25th, 2023, the Food Research & Action Center released a nutrition report, “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2023.” The report emphasized the importance of summer nutrition programs to reduce food insecurity, especially during the summer and highlighted that participation in these programs declined from July 2021 to July 2022 but was higher than pre-pandemic levels. Key Findings revealed that close to three million children on an average day were given lunch through Summer Nutrition Programs, a 2.4 million decrease compared to July 2021, a decrease that aligns with new federal legislation that created a permanent program and will provide an Electronic Benefits Transfer card. Furthermore, the findings and logistics from the program express the need for summer food sites to provide educational and enrichment programming. This helps children overcome hunger and learning loss.
By Ellison Olson, Policy Intern
