A Message from Billy Shore

For many kids, summertime means food, friends and fun. For families who count on school breakfast and lunch, however, the summer months can be stressful, and limited family food budgets have to stretch even further.

With one if five kids in this nation struggling with hunger, these are children we all know, who live on our streets, go to our churches and play on our Little League teams.

Yet while more than 21 million U.S. kids rely on free or reduced-price school lunch every day during the school year, just over 3 million receive a free meal during the summer. But there is good news. Free summer meals are available to kids at thousands of summer meal sites across the country. These sites – funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – help families who may need an extra hand this summer feed their kids.

The problem? Too many families don’t know this program exists or don’t have the means to access it.  This summer, the No Kid Hungry campaign is hard at work with local partners across the country to connect kids with meals this summer. We’re also holding local events across the nation to draw attention to the problem.

Childhood summers shouldn’t be a time for stress. This summer, working together, we can make sure that kids can take a break from worrying about food and just be kids.

Thank you for all you do to support Share Our Strength.

Sincerely,

Billy Shore, Founder and CEO, Share Our Strength