Breakfast
Participation
as a Percent of
Lunch
Participation
School Year
School Breakfast Participation
43.7%
45.7%
45.6%
46.8%
51.3%
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
2007-2008 2008-2009
2009-2010 2010-2011
2011-2012
Breakfast
Average Daily
Participation
Total
Students
working to greatly expand participation
in school breakfast through alternative
delivery models. Maryland Hunger
Solutions helped to increase participation
significantly in Baltimore City and six
counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore,
Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and
Prince George’s) with low rates of
breakfast participation through the First
Class Breakfast Initiative and Partners for
Breakfast in the Classroom.
•
Reaching out to families and providers
about free summer meals
. Children
who receive school breakfasts and
lunches need to receive good food
and nutrition in June, July and August,
too. The federal Summer Food Service
Program can provide these benefits to
children through many organizations,
including summer day camp and
child care providers, schools, and
churches. Yet, this has been one of the
most under-utilized federal nutrition
programs because many providers are
unaware of the program and because
of artificial barriers to enrollment.
That’s why Maryland Hunger Solutions
contacts youth program providers every
summer to spread the word that food
and nutrition benefits are available,
and to provide assistance with the
application process by disseminating
Your Guide to the Summer Food Service
Program
. Maryland Hunger Solutions
also has canvassed numerous low-
income neighborhoods surrounding
summer meal sites to get the word out
to families that children can receive free
nutritious meals during the summer
months. At the state level, Maryland
Hunger Solutions partnered with
Antonio Freeman, a Baltimore native
and former wide receiver for the Super
Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers,
to promote the program with public
service announcements and with a
literacy challenge at select summer
meal sites in Baltimore City.
•
Launching a mobile meals pilot
project
in two counties in partnership
with community and faith-based
organizations. Maryland Hunger
Solutions partnered with Catholic
Charities of Baltimore and the Family
League of Baltimore City to identify
faith-based organizations in targeted
communities whose areas could benefit
from a summer meal site. With the
help of a mobile meals van donated
by the vendor, three church-based
sites in underserved, low-income
neighborhoods in Baltimore City served
more than 6,000 meals to children
during the summer of 2011. Maryland
Hunger Solutions also partnered with
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
during the summer of 2012 to utilize
a school bus to provide daily meals to
between 200 and 400 children in low-
income neighborhoods.
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