Summer Hunger Increases and FEED 3 Expands Texas Program
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) August 02, 2013 -- While leaders from both political parties have joined forces to raise alarm over the 17.4 million U.S. families that do not have access to sufficient food, FEED 3 summer feeding programs increased to 27 sites in 2013. The nearly 120,000 meals and snacks served in 2012 are already being surpassed this summer.
"We are working to provide solutions to hunger with a new model. We are involving the business community with their expertise to support and increase the number of feeding centers in Texas neighborhoods," explains Randy Skinner, Executive Director of FEED 3. Skinner has worked on Hunger Task forces in Texas, Washington, D.C. and is the Hunger Representative for Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
The FEED 3 model works with local churches and nonprofits to provide a healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks to children under 18 years of age. Larger sites such as Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and Concord Church run summer long programs for children, allowing them to have a safe learning environment. This is especially important to working parents, who cannot afford daycare or expensive summer camps.
One such site, Care Center Ministries, feeds hundreds of children during the summer months. With costs covered through Strategic Justice Initiatives, Inc., a FEED 3 partner, sites are able to use their funds to run summer programs.
Bishop Jimmy Slater, a South Dallas pastor who also runs the Care Center Ministries summer programs, says: “Without FEED 3, we would not be able to cover the costs of feeding the kids, and at the same time have quality summer programs that keep these kids engaged.”
Upwards to 300,000 children in North Texas have limited access to food during the summer months. Slater says: “We are blessed to help kids who would not have eaten this summer with nutritional meals through FEED 3. They also provided Physical Ed equipment and games for our campers!”
Sadly, Texas ranks among the top states for food insecurity. With a $100 billion agriculture industry hard at work each day, Texas is a powerhouse of productivity, which makes our hunger situation unacceptable and even more troubling. Nearly 87% of DISD children qualify as living in poverty.
FEED 3 is Part of the Solution
FEED 3 Inc. and its partner Strategic Justice Initiatives, Inc. (SJI) have joined forces to tackle hunger in poor communities with a pro-business approach. The Summer Nutrition Programs (SNP) provide healthy meals each summer to children in low-income communities and serves nutritious meals to children in safe, enriching environments during the summer.
Because food costs are the largest budget item for many churches and nonprofits running summer programs, a partnership with SJI provides the meals, while FEED 3 helps supplement costs with product, character education, along with church and business partnerships.
The programs are critically important to ensure every child has the chance to grow into a healthy and productive adult. Texas has one of the largest populations of poor children, more than 2.5 million that rely on the National School Lunch Programs (NSLP). The Summer Nutrition Programs (SNP) are intended to serve the same population, yet it reaches only a fraction of the children who eat lunch during the school year.
Help is Needed to Expand
There is a need for more Summer Feeding Centers in every community across the state. Churches, nonprofits, apartment complexes, and schools can become a site for summer feeding. If you know of a organization that might be interested in this program, please let them know about our summer feeding program.
Spread the Word
The best advertisement is word of mouth, followed by social media. FEED 3 would like to encourage business and church leaders to learn more about the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), get involved and pass a resolution in support of participating sites. Business leaders could host a corporate luncheon to discuss food insecurity in their community as well as mentioning this as a topic for discussion with other groups.
For more information about the summer feeding program or one of the 27 sites go to:
FEED 3
To watch the FEED 3 Video.
About Randy Skinner
Please contact Ashley Douglas at 214-497-4430, douglasgov1(at)yahoo(dot)com or
Randy Skinner at 214-316-1356 at skinner.randy(at)gmail(dot)com.
Randy Skinner, Feed 3, http://www.Feed3.org, 214 316-1356, [email protected]
Share this article