New Map Shows Summer Feeding Sites

Birmingham– Alabama is a poor state, and many of its children go hungry, especially when school is out and roughly 360,000 lose regular access to free or reduced-price school meals. But there are programs meant to fight that food insecurity and the health, cognitive, and academic problems it causes. The Alabama Poverty Project’s “Alabama Possible” campaign has put together a map (click the word “map” and zoom in) and a database of more than 600 summer feeding sites around the state.

“While kids look forward to the freedom that comes with summer, many worry about where they are going to eat,” says Kristina Scott, APP executive director. “We created a map of summer feeding sites to make it easier for children and their families to find places to eat. Summer feeding sites are one of our most underutilized resources to fight summer childhood hunger.”

All children under 18 are eligible to eat for free at summer feeding sites. As you can see on the map or the list, most sites serve lunch, but some serve breakfast and dinner, too, and meal times vary by location.

According to its website, the Alabama Poverty Project is “a statewide nonprofit organization that works to reduce systemic poverty and its root causes by inspiring Alabamians to pursue a state in which no individual’s quality of life is diminished by poverty.”