No summer break for student hunger
By Xavier Botana
One of the Portland
Public Schools’ goals is to teach the “Whole Student.” That means that beyond
teaching academics, we help students develop other skills and habits needed for
success in life. We look out for students’ physical and mental well being too,
with the aid of school nurses and social workers – and by providing nutritious
school meals each school day.
Now it’s summer,
and school is out. That’s why this is an important time for us to come together
as a community to ensure that our students’ needs are being met during this
long break, especially when it comes to meals. Student hunger doesn’t take a
vacation.
To help bridge the
gap when schools are closed, the Portland Public Schools and Opportunity
Alliance are again sponsoring summer meals sites across Portland this summer.
Through this federally funded program, all children 18 years and younger may
receive free meals on a first-come, first-serve basis, at any of the 15 sites.
The sites are open
and some will continue as late as August 24. Get more specifics about sites and
times online at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks
You can also text
“Summer Meals” to 97779 or dial 2-1-1.
All youngsters are
welcome – regardless of whether they eat school meals during the school year.
All they need to do is show up to get nutritious breakfasts and lunches during
the summer.
Because we want to
make the most of every learning opportunity, our district and Opportunity
Alliance also have worked with community partners to offer enrichment
activities at meal sites.
At the Deering Oaks
Park site, for example, partners offering activities and events include our
city’s Recreation Department, Cultivating Community, Kids Movement Project and Children’s
Museum & Theatre of Maine. Weekly event schedules are posted at the meal
site in the park. Thank you to all our generous partners.
Too many Portland families
experience food insecurity, so we’re also working year-round to make sure our
district does more to utilize all the opportunities to feed students through
the federal nutrition programs and the many community organizations focused on
food security.
Last summer, the
Portland Public Schools and the Cumberland County Food Security Council
launched the Portland Public Schools Food Security Task Force. This coalition
of organizations believes that food fuels learning and that all students have
the right to nutritious food that enables them to attain their full potential.
Our schools are
working to reduce food insecurity. At Riverton Elementary School – one of four Portland
schools having more than 75 percent of students qualify for free or
reduced-price meals – many families don’t always have enough to eat at home.
So Riverton
launched a Backpack Food Program this past December, serving 60 families. The
program, in which food is discreetly delivered to families in backpacks that
students take home, is a collaboration between Riverton school staff and PTO, the
Locker Project and other community volunteers. It has been so successful that
it recently won a School Partner Award from the Good Shepherd Food Bank.
The Portland Public
Schools is making other strides. Last year, we discontinued the practice of withholding
meals from students with unpaid school meal balances and offering them an
“alternative” meal. The Portland Board of Public Education was among the
first in Maine to take this step to prevent “shaming” of students. Several
community benefactors have stepped in to erase meal debt at different schools this
past year. We are always so grateful to those generous contributors.
This past spring,
we successfully piloted a program to provide better nutrition to students in
after-school settings and are expanding this program.
Partnerships with
food pantries and other organizations can help improve food access for students
on long breaks and weekends. The Food Security Task Force has mapped out which
schools have those programs, and which schools should add them. This assessment
will be available later this summer and will include recommendations for
sustainable solutions to student hunger.
These
recommendations will provide opportunities for others in the community who want
to help. Our children are our future, so please join us in ensuring that all
Portland students have the adequate, nutritious food they need to thrive, learn
and succeed.
