Abstract
Poverty, low educational attainment, and food insecurity are significant issues for families and children living in the shadows of our two largest campuses1, and in the northeast Georgia region we serve. Sixty six percent of school-aged children in Hall and Lumpkin Counties experience food insecurity and qualify for free or reduced meals at school, and more than fifty percent of the children attending public schools in northeast Georgia qualify for free or reduced price meals during the school year2.
During the summer months, the Nutrition Services Division of Bright from the Start administers the Summer Food Service Program (BFTS-SFSP) in Georgia. SFSP is a federal nutrition program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)) to ensure that children throughout Georgia have access to nutritious meals during the summer when school is not in session to help alleviate hunger and malnutrition and address the negative effects that hunger and malnutrition have on an individual's health, educational development, and growth3.
As a Bright for the Start Summer Food Service Sponsor, the UNG Summer Food Service Program 2012 provides meals and snacks to school-age children in every county where UNG has a campus, as well as three additional counties in the northeast Georgia region.
The UNG Summer Food Service Program has maintained considerable growth year over year:
Total Meals/Snacks Served
Lunch
Breakfast
Snack
Total Served
Summer 2012
2,624
1,603
925
5,152
Summer 2013
6,708
6,661
13,369
Summer 2014
13,527
6,179
19,706
Summer 2015
20,245
8,295
28,540
With commitments in place for Summer 2016 from our community partners, Forsyth County Schools, Georgia Food Bank –Arby’s Foundation, the Georgia Mountain Food Bank and the Area Agency on Aging Senior Community Service Employment Program, as well as our host meal sites, the UNG Summer Food Service Program 2016 seeks to continue to grow – reaching out to more children at additional meal in an effort to improve the overall nutritional status of many of Georgia’s most vulnerable children, help alleviate hunger and malnutrition, and address the negative effects that hunger and malnutrition have on an individual's health, educational development, and growth.
1. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml;
2. http://decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/13FreeRedAllSchools.pdf
3. http://decal.ga.gov/Nutrition/AboutNutritionServices.aspx
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Metadata
- Subject
Sociology & Human Services
- Date submitted
18 July 2022
- Keywords
- Additional information
Author Biography:
Professor and Department Head - Sociology and Human Services