PRESS RELEASE DETAIL

Office of the Mayor-President


For release: IMMEDIATELY

Release Date: 09/09/2014

Participation up 26.8 percent in EBR summer food service program

Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program was up by 26.8 percent this summer in East Baton Rouge Parish compared to 2013.

The program offers free meals to any East Baton Rouge Parish resident who is 18 years old or younger, regardless of income, through three local school systems and the Big Buddy Program.

The East Baton Rouge Public School System saw their overall participation rise from 271,168 in the summer of 2013 to 307,343 this summer, an increase of 13 percent.

The biggest increase came in the Big Buddy program, where the number of summer meals increased more than five times from 5,740 in 2013 to 37,301 this summer.

The City of Baker School System saw its summer feeding program increase by 184 percent this summer, rising from last year’s 4,188 meals to 11,908.

Gail Grover, the Mayor’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, attributed the increase to collaborative efforts between the Mayor's Office, USDA, the school systems, and the local Big Buddy program. Mayor-President Melvin L. “Kip” Holden began the process last spring by meeting with the USDA with the goal of increasing participation in the Summer Feeding Program, she said.

The Central Community School System also participated in the program, but did not have data available from last summer.

For more information, go to http://healthybr.com/healthy-eating/summer-feeding-program.aspx

During the regular school year, 21 million U.S. children receive free and reduced-price meals through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs. But when school is out, many children relying on these school meals go hungry. To fill this gap, the USDA provides free, nutritious summer meals to schools and other approved sites.

In July, the East Baton Rouge School System announced that it will provide free meals to all of its students, regardless of income, for the first time this school year. That program is separate from the U.S.D.A.’s Summer Meals Program, and was created by the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which took effect in the 2014-15 regular school year.




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