Monday June 24 at 9:30AM at New Haven City Hall, Mayor Toni Harp of New Haven will be joined by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Mayor Curtis Leng of Hamden, Superintendent Carol Birks of New Haven, Superintendent Jody Goeler of Hamden, and Board of Education Member Joe Rodriguez at a press conference to officially kick off the Summer Meals Program in New Haven and Hamden.
Providing children with access to nutritious food beyond the school year and into the summer months has clear health, education, and economic benefits. Children obtain 50% of their calories from food eaten at school through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and the benefits of these programs have been demonstrated. The Summer Meals Program aims to address that significant gap in nutrition. Lack of access to meals beyond the school year exacerbates summer learning loss (also known as “summer slide”), health issues like obesity, and further increases the opportunity gap. In fact, food insecurity is significantly predictive of poor physical and cognitive development in children. In 2018, nearly 195,000 meals were served during the 8-week period that Summer Meals Program operated in New Haven and Hamden. The vast majority of meal sites, nearly 70, and all of the most utilized locations, were in New Haven.
The New Haven Food Policy Council (NHFPC), a commission of the City of New Haven, has been partnering with the New Haven Public Schools Food Service Department, the Food System Policy Division of the City of New Haven, and End Hunger CT! to reach more New Haven kids through the Summer Meals Program since 2014. In that time, we saw significant increases in the program utilization, especially in neighborhood-based supper meals. The Summer Meals Program has always relied on outstanding local community partnerships to plan and promote the Summer Meals Program. These vital planning and outreach efforts are possible because of the United Way of Greater New Haven, Witnesses to Hunger, CT Food Bank, Community Action Agency of New Haven, Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, and CitySeed.
Monday, June 24 at 9:30AM at City Hall for the Summer Meals Mayoral Press Conference.
