BOISE, Idaho -- Summer usually coincides with a troubling spike in childhood hunger while kids are out of school, but a program set up during the pandemic could show the path to feeding more children every summer.

Students who receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year struggle to get meals over the summer. Federal nutrition programs only reach one in seven of these students, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Zoe Neuberger, senior policy analyst at the Center, said the gap exists for a number of reasons: Parents might not know the programs exist, don't have a site nearby, or don't have flexibility at work to bring their kids to the sites.

"That's why just a small share of the children who qualify and get meals during the school year get them during the summer," Neuberger explained. "As a result of that, we can see in the research that childhood hunger does increase during the summer for school-age children."

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) started last summer and provides grocery benefits instead of school meals while kids were out of school.

More than 120,000 Idaho children are eligible for P-EBT this summer, according to the Center. Neuberger said Idaho's P-EBT plan has not yet been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She noted the USDA already had a model for providing food benefits while school is out. For the past decade, it has carried out summer EBT pilot programs. Neuberger said Congress should make the program permanent and available nationwide, and added there is a risk to not taking advantage of the opportunity.

"There are, nationwide, about 30 million children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals during the school year," Neuberger observed. "And if this program isn't extended once the temporary program expires after next summer, they would be at risk of going back to that pattern of child hunger increasing during the summer."

President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan included $25 billion over the next decade for the summer EBT program.

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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