Summer Lunch Program Doesn't Reach Many Hungry Kids In Michigan

By Linda Stephan

The state Department of Education is asking community organizations to help deliver school lunches to hungry children during summer vacation.

Last year, more than a half-million school kids were eligible for free snacks and meals through the federal Summer Food Service Program, but without enough local groups to run the programs only about 15 percent of eligible kids were fed in Michigan.

The department is asking local governments, schools, colleges, summer camps and nonprofits to help out. Groups who run local programs receive federal money for food and administrative costs, and training.

A Kids Count report released this week by a Michigan nonprofit shows about one-in-four Michigan children now live in poverty.