Because hunger doesn’t take a summer break

Food program could reach even more

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Charlie Shoemaker⁄The Gazette At Long Branch Community Center on Thursday, Victoria Alexis (left) and Naomi Fesseha, both 8 years old, take bag lunches and cartons of milk available to them through a program that provides food for children.

When they got back to their seats, both girls emptied their bags out onto the table, examining their chicken nuggets, biscuits, applesauce and peaches.

‘‘I like the peaches,” Alexis said. ‘‘That’s a really good lunch.”

It was a lunch county and state officials wish more Montgomery County Public School students could access. During a meeting Thursday at the community center, officials discussed how hunger affects students and what the state and county are doing to ensure students who participate in the Free and Reduced Meal plan during the school year get fed during the summer.

The Summer Food Service Program, which began in 1976 and is funded by the state and federal governments, feeds those children at more than 80 sites in the county, including the Long Branch Community Center. Sites include schools, recreation centers and faith-based organizations in geographic areas where more than 50 percent of students get free or reduced-priced meals during the school year.

Last year, there were 88 sites across the county and 207,340 breakfasts and lunch were served. Sites included schools like Broad Acres, Brown Station, Washington Grove, Summit Hall, Georgian Forest and Rosemont elementary schools; Takoma Park, White Oak and Gaithersburg middle schools; and church and community groups like Camp Good Counsel and Rockville’s recreation centers. Once a site is qualified, all children at the site can receive the food and snacks.

At many of those sites, children also participate in learning activities, said Marla Caplon, supervisor of MCPS’ division of food and nutrition services. For instance, children at Long Branch get to use the library, swim and play. Meals are always balanced, and sometimes chips or cookies are included.

It’s hard to imagine people in Montgomery County, which is perceived as wealthy even by its own residents, going hungry, said Amy Gabala, executive director of Rockville-based Manna Food Center. But about 25 percent of MCPS students are at risk of hunger.

Most of those children have parents who are working very hard, but don’t always have the money for food at the end of the month. A family of four needs to make $65,000 a year to be self-sufficient in Montgomery County.

‘‘The people we see at Manna are the people you see every day,” Gabala said. ‘‘... This is one of the most important things we can do for our kids,” she said, adding that without proper nutrition, it is difficult for children to learn.

‘‘We like it because it’s nutritious and healthy and good,” Alexis said, adding she likes getting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate milk. ‘‘It helps us build strong bones.”

However, not all children are getting the opportunity Alexis has to eat a healthy meal. There are about 35,000 children between 5 and 18 years old in MCPS who are going to school every day without proper nutrition, but not all those children participate in the summer program, said County Councilman Michael L. Subin (D-At large) of Gaithersburg, chairman of the council’s education committee.

Officials are trying to reach out to offer more residents the opportunity to participate.

‘‘I really appreciate this program,” said Silver Spring resident Karen Johnson, whose two grandchildren eat lunch at the center during the summer. ‘‘Our children here have something to look forward to. Lunches are a real blessing.”

Children enjoy the food they receive, Johnson said, and it’s healthy food that parents want their children to eat. ‘‘They really, really love what they get.”