Durbin Seeks Increased Participation in Summer Food Service Program

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Diane Doherty, Executive Director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition, to announce the results of a study conducted by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. regarding the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The FRAC study shows that only 17 out of every 100 Illinois children who receive a free or reduced-price school lunch in the regular school year participate in the SFSP.

"In the summer months, when school lets out, hundreds of thousands of low-income children in Illinois lose access to the school breakfasts, lunches, and after-school snacks they receive during the regular school year," Durbin said. "The Summer Food Service Program is an excellent way to provide children with the nutrition they need to stay healthy. But we need to increase awareness of and participation in the Summer Food Service Program to ensure low-income children do not fall through the cracks and go hungry over the summer months."

In Illinois, there has been a 35.5% decrease since 2000 in SFSP participation among eligible children—the third worst state in participation decline. From July 2005 to July 2006, participation decreased 8.6 %.

One of the reasons more children don't have access to the program is that the federal paperwork requirement is too burdensome in states like Illinois. In response, the federal government started a pilot program several years ago to simplify the paperwork requirements for the summer food program. The states that participated in the pilot program found that there were more participating sites serving more low income children as a result.

Durbin, who co-founded the Senate Hunger Caucus in the summer of 2004, recognizes the need for further improvement. "We need to expand this Simplified Summer Food Program beyond the 26 states currently participating in it," Durbin said. "I serve on the Senate Subcommittee that provides annual funding to the USDA, and I've asked our leadership to expand the program to provide funding to support more summer food sites."

According to the results of the study, if Illinois increased participation in the Summer Food Service Program to 40 out of every 100 eligible students it would serve nearly 150,000 additional children and would receive an additional $8.3 million in federal reimbursements. Until then, Doherty says the summer is still a worrisome time for low income children and their families. "We are all aware that an increasing number of families are working in full-time jobs that don't pay living wages at the same time they are overwhelmed with rising energy, housing and health costs, and they struggle to ensure their children aren't going hungry," Doherty said.

Administered by the Illinois State Board of Education with federal funding provided through the United States Department of Agriculture, the SFSP reimburses organizations that serve low income children nutritious meals during the summer months when school meals are not available.

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