skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Efforts Expand to Keep Illinois Kids Fed This Summer

play audio
Play

Monday, May 19, 2014   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - For kids, summer should be a time of carefree fun, but there are thousands of children in Illinois who spend their days worrying about when they will eat next.

During the school year, thousands of children from lower-income families rely on free or reduced-priced breakfast and lunch at school, yet last year in Illinois, only 11 percent of those children participated in summer meal programs.

Audrey Rowe, administrator, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, says her agency is expanding efforts to reduce childhood hunger when school is out.

According to Rowe, "When we looked at the participation rate between last year and the year before, we made a determination that in Illinois, particularly the seven southernmost Illinois counties, poverty has increased, food insecurity has increased."

Illinois is one of several states being targeted in a national effort to add more meal sites for the Summer Food Program. Rowe recently met with school, community, and anti-hunger leaders in Chicago to develop solutions and set up more sites, including partnerships with faith-based organizations and mobile feeding sites.

Rowe says the local organizations she's talked with in Illinois seem eager to improve children's access to summer meals.

"People are stepping up and saying, 'Okay, there's gaps here - we can put a site in that location.' And thus far, no one says no," says Rowe. "Everyone makes it very clear that they really want to help, and that's what's so exciting."

Beyond providing technical assistance for the expansion, Rowe adds they are trying to engage community members about the gap in meal participation and the need to reduce it.

"That's really our bottom line for this summer feeding effort," she explains. "We want to make sure that there is no kid hungry, that we are feeding all of America's children who need to have access to summer feeding."

Nationally, during the school year, 31 million children from lower-income families receive free or reduced priced meals. In the summer, the number drops to less than 3.5 million.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021