By the numbers
Many children served by free lunch program but release from state agency says many more are missing out
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Monday, August 4, 2008 10:34 AM PDT
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| Larry Meyer | Argus Observer
ReneƩ Cummings, director of Harvest House Missions, talks with children participating in the free meal program at Eastside Kiwanis Park Friday. Cummings said her program serves around 100 children each day. |
ONTARIO — One hundred or more children are participating at the two summer meal sites in Ontario operated by Harvest House Missions.
Yet those numbers are far fewer than the total that should be served according to a news release from the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force.
The task force said in 2007, Malheur County served about 36 percent of the children eligible for the free or reduced-price school meal program during the school year.
Those numbers, though, drop when school ends for the summer.
“We expect to see some decline from school year to summertime, but this gap is far too wide and many children are going hungry,” said Pattie Whitney-Wise, executive director of the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force, said in the report.
“Families are really needing help this year after recent shifts in the economy,” she added.
Reneé Cummings, director of Harvest House Missions, said both the summer meal sites her organization operates in Ontario are busy.
“We are serving about 100 to 110 children a day at our two sites (Beck Kiwanis and Eastside Kiwanis parks),” Cummings said. “The two sites are very different. On the Eastside, the majority of children come alone. There are few adults and most of the children walk from the housing units around the park. At Beck Kiwanis, there are more adults accompanying the children, many drive to the site and stay and play.”
At the East Kiwanis Park, Cummings provides activities, such as games which the children like.
“I think it adds to their day,” she said. At Beck Kiwanis Park, children are more interested in playing on the park equipment, so Cummings only offered activities one year.
Cummings said there could be several reasons why the total number of children in the program is not higher.
“First, many children are left alone during the day and are not allowed to walk to the park alone. We hear this from the children who do attend on the Eastside. It is also social issue,” Cummings said.
“The older children are counted in the school district numbers, but summer lunch isn’t cool. The only time we get older kids is when they are baby-sitting younger siblings and bring them, and many times they will not eat,” she said.
She said she rarely hears that people don’t know about the free lunches, but thinks it is more an issue of accessibility for the children than anything else, Cummings said.
Funding for the Summer Food Service program is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank supports with the program by providing fresh produce, juice, meat, canned goods and sometimes ice cream.
