States, tribes will test ways to reduce rural child hunger | Food and Environment Reporting Network

Five pilot projects will test ways to reduce child hunger in rural America, with approaches that range from home delivery of food to providing three school meals a day, says the Agriculture Department. The USDA awarded $27 million in grants for the demonstration projects in Virginia, Kentucky and Nevada, and the Chickasaw and Navajo nations, from money provided in the 2010 child-nutrition law. The largest grants went to the Chickasaw Nation, $9.7 million, and Virginia, $8.8 million.

The Chickasaw Nation project “will provide food through home delivery to children who qualify for free school meals,” said the USDA announcement. The Virginia program will test three approaches — providing three school meals a day to all children in targeted schools, providing food for weekends and school breaks, and providing more resources for poor families to buy food during the summer.

Kentucky will measure the effect of providing an additional transportation deduction to poor families, which could increase food-stamp benefits, while Nevada will compare the effects of providing more food stamps to families, as well as additional education and caseworker advice.The Navajo nation will employ “food access navigators” to connect eligible families with nutrition programs.

“No kid can be hungry to learn if they’re just plain hungry,” said Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe during a teleconference. Agricuture Secretary Kevin Concannon said the grants would allow multi-year trials. USDA says nearly 16 million children live in families at risk of food shortages and “many of those children live in rural communities.”