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Image Caption: Camp goers at the Connecticut House of Restoration in Hartford smile and hold their coloring pages on Friday, July 28th, 2023.
With the 2023 CT Summer Meals season behind us, the End Hunger Connecticut! staff looks back on what a successful summer it was promoting this critical program alongside site sponsors, staff, legislators and partners. We could not have done this work without our partners, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and Connecticut Foodshare. Throughout the course of the summer, we had the opportunity to visit meal sites across the state and meet the many amazing people involved in ensuring every child has access to nutritious food over the summer months. We visited over ten different sites this summer alone, including at least one meal site in each county. Sites included Norwalk, Bloomfield, Middletown, Bridgeport, Plainfield, Hartford, Stafford, Thompson, Torrington, and Manchester. These sites ranged from big cities to small towns, congregate to non-congregate, schools to parks, and so much more.
At each site we visited, we had the chance to interview the children and staff impacted by the Summer Meals program. The hum of laughter and the crinkle of food packages opening filled each room, and there was a strong sense of community and love everywhere we went. As children shared their favorite meals and food service staff and parents shared how the program has individually impacted families, it quickly became apparent just how crucial it is for these sites to operate. Access to free and nutritious meals can be life-changing for a child in so many ways, with one summer camp educator remarking that even behavioral issues had gotten better since the implementation of the program. Every child deserves access to fresh food; as Linda Schultz, Shepard Hill Elementary School Site Sponsor, said, “We need to invest in our kids.”
Image Caption: Group photo of legislators, community leaders, partners and EHC! team at Walterville School in Bridgeport, CT.
Various Connecticut state legislators made appearances at several of our site visits this summer to see how they operated and to speak on the importance of the program. Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz attended visits to Wintonbury Early Childhood School in Bloomfield, Walterville School in Bridgeport, and Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester. Middletown Mayor Benjamin Florsheim joined us on our trip to the Macdonough School, and spoke on just how valuable the program is for Middletown’s youngest residents. Senator Chris Murphy visited The House of Restoration in Hartford, hosting a press conference about the importance of Summer Meals followed by watching the program in action, sitting and talking with a very full cafeteria of children during lunch. Senator Mae Flexer showed her support for the Summer Meals Program at Thompson Middle School, where she highlighted the importance of the program, stating, “I’m pleased to see the great program that’s been run here in Thompson for many years and grateful to see young children and their families be able to come out and be together and get a really nutritious meal.” She detailed how vital it is to make “meals available across our systems. Whether they be in the summertime or in our school lunch programs, they should be free.”
The average daily participation in the Summer Meals Program at lunchtime alone is 51,358. The program provides millions of meals to thousands of families across the state, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by state agencies. We hope to spread even more awareness of the program in future years. More information about the program for upcoming summers can be found at ctsummermeals.org.
The fight to end childhood hunger is far from over, however, and there are many ways to seek access to no-cost nutritious food even as the summer months come to an end. Parents can receive supplemental assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and can check eligibility via the EHC! SNAP Call Center. No-cost school breakfasts have been guaranteed to all public school students for this coming school year (for schools participating in the national School Breakfast program), and we continue to advocate for no-cost school meals for all this upcoming legislative session. Explore our website more resources and join the fight to end hunger with us.
Written by 2023 CT Summer Meals Interns Jordan and Nina.
About us: End Hunger CT! works statewide to eliminate hunger and promote healthy nutrition through outreach, public education, and advocacy. EHC! offers SNAP assistance, nutrition program promotion, doubles SNAP at farmers’ markets, and more to help CT residents in need. To learn more about our services, click here.
Have any questions? Contact our Communications Coordinator, Kimberly Nguyen, at knguyen@endhungerct.org.
