September 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 33

Co-Sponsor the Summer Meals Act
(S. 1908/H.R. 2818)
sites are so much more than a
meal for the participating children and community.

Healthy Food and Summer
Enrichment
A critical part of this nation's nutritional safety net, the summer
meals program combats childhood
hunger, which increases for low-income children when they lose access to free school meals. In addition, youth-serving organizations
are uniquely positioned to offer
educational and enrichment activities to mitigate the harm of the
" summer slide " that occurs when
children are not attending school
or lack learning opportunity during
the summer months.
Through healthy meals combined with enrichment activities,
NRPA stands with its partners at
the YMCA of the USA and the
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
in asking Congress to protect the
sites and programs made possible
by the current structure and operation of the Summer Food Service Program.
We need your help to strengthen these sites, encourage new
sites, and increase participation
and number of meals served.
Congress can do this by investing
in transportation, streamlining
administrative paperwork, allowing for an additional meal and
aligning site-location eligibility to
match that of several federal educational grants. It's not too late
to tell your members of Congress
to stop raining on our congregate
parade and invest in the site-based
model.
Kate Clabaugh, MSW, is NRPA's Director of
Government Affairs (kclabaugh@nrpa.org).

The Summer Meals Act of 2019 (S. 1908/H.R. 2818), introduced by Senators
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Representatives
Don Young (R-Alaska) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), would increase the reach of
the Summer Nutrition Programs. The Summer Nutrition Programs help close the
summer nutrition gap and support educational and enrichment programs that
keep children learning, engaged and safe when school is out. Ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Summer Meals Act to show their support for
including these portions of the bill in the final Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
Specifically, this bill includes language that would:
* Allow local government agencies and private nonprofit organizations
to feed children year-round through the Summer Food Service Program
(SFSP). This would relieve the administrative burden on park and recreation
agencies from serving meals through the Summer Food Service Program
during the summer months and having to switch to the at-risk afterschool
meal component of the Child and Adult Care Food Program during the school
year. By structuring a year-round program to operate as the SFSP, Congress
can also ensure that providers are receiving the higher meal reimbursement
rate available in SFSP and the functionality of the SFSP enjoyed by thousands
of sites nationwide managed by park and recreation agencies.
* Provide funding for transportation grants to support innovative solutions to increase access to summer meal sites. With support from the
Walmart Foundation, Little Rock Parks and Recreation developed a cross-sector partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) and Rock Region METRO to launch a citywide transportation initiative, called Be Mighty
Metro, for summer 2019. Since June, pass holders have taken more than
12,000 rides on the public transportation system with more than 1,200 individuals registering for bus passes. The number of summer meals served
at libraries increased by 46 percent (compared to June 2018) and the CALS
summer reading numbers have also grown substantially, from 7,733 youth in
2018 to 13,652 engaged in 2019.
In addition to helping families access summer meals and enrichment activities,
there were numerous additional benefits attributed to the program - parents
and caregivers could now take the bus to work, to the grocery store, to medical appointments or to parks, splash pads and community events. The program
provided huge ($200-$300/month) cost savings to families - money that
could be used to purchase healthy foods, school supplies or pay for other family
needs. An extra benefit is the role that public transportation plays in environmental sustainability.
* Allow all sites to serve a third meal. Currently, sites are only allowed to
serve up to two meals and a snack per day. Allowing all sites to serve a third
meal would enable day-long programs managed by park and recreation
agencies to extend their hours for working families, ensure evening programs
are feasible, especially those designed for older youth, and relieve the financial burden faced by some agencies that have been serving that additional
meal from their own budget.
Contact NRPA's director of government affairs, Kate Clabaugh (kclabaugh@nrpa.
org), to find out how you can reach out to your members of Congress.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

September 2019 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2019 - Parks & Recreation