Compared to the long-established school lunch program, after-school programs that provide snacks or supper to pupils are tiny. In fact, just 1.2 million suppers, versus 30 million lunches, are served in school each day. Yet the after-school programs are growing rapidly, with an 11-percent increase in participation in 2017 from the preceding year, said the anti-hunger Food Research and Action Center on Wednesday.
More than 46,000 after-school nutrition programs were operating in October 2017, the benchmark month for a FRAC report. “While participation in this program is moving in the right direction, we must strengthen efforts to ensure more low-income children who rely on school lunch also can access after-school supper,” said FRAC president Jim Weill.
California, Vermont, and the District of Columbia had the highest participation rates when the number of after-school suppers served was compared to school lunch participation. The District of Columbia was the only entity to top the goal of serving supper to 15 children for every 100 who ate lunch. Three of the largest states — California, Texas, and Florida — served slightly more than half of the children who participated nationwide.
To maximize participation in the snack and supper programs, “there must be enough programs offering educational and enrichment activities. … After-school programming not only draws children into safe and engaging learning environments, it also provides a critical — and required — foundation for providing federally reimbursable after-school meals,” said the FRAC report. “In a study conducted by the Afterschool Alliance, eight in 10 parents reported that after-school programs help them keep their jobs.”
Funding for after-school supper was authorized in the 2010 child nutrition law; after-school snacks have been available since 1998. About 1.2 million children ate supper though the after-school program in October 2017, and 1.6 million ate after-school snacks. Most of the snacks were provided through the school lunch program, though 355,000 children received snacks through another of the USDA’s child nutrition programs.
The 11-percent increase in 2017 was more than double the growth rate in 2016 from 2015, said FRAC. “More public and private funding is needed to increase the number of high-quality, affordable after-school programs.”
School lunch is the largest and oldest of the USDA’s school food programs, with some 30 million meals served daily. Roughly 15 million students take part in the school breakfast program, and 2.6 million are served through the summer food program.
To read the report, “Afterschool suppers: A snapshot of participation,” click here.