Participation in summer meal programs takes a nosedive
An average of almost 3 million children ate lunch daily through USDA's summer nutrition programs last year, a huge decline from 5.4 million a day during summer 2021 with the effective end of pandemic-era operating flexibilities, said the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) on Monday. While lunch participation plunged by 44 percent, breakfast participation plunged by 62 percent, to an average of 1.8 million a day.