Nevada losing ground in effort to feed kids during summer

Afsha Bawany

Monday, July 7, 2003 | 10:58 a.m.

Nevada is one of the top states in the nation in feeding students during the summer, but it's losing ground, a recent study says.

The study by the Food and Research Council, a nonprofit anti-hunger group based in Washington, shows Nevada ranked fourth last summer in the ratio of children receiving federally funded lunches to those being fed during the school year. That was a drop from second the previous summer.

"Even though it's near the top, there's so much room to grow," Doug Hess, lead author of the report, said.

For every 100 Nevada students who ate free or reduced-price meals in the 2001-02 school year, 34 children got summer lunches, either at year-round schools or from special summer food service programs. The previous summer 44 children were fed for every 100 students given lunch during the year.

The drop comes even as the number of year-round schools has stayed the same, and is a result of fewer organizations signing on as sponsors, said Doug Thunder, the deputy superintendent for administrative and fiscal Services for the Nevada Department of Education.

Even with the drop Nevada is still serving more children than the national average of 21 children in summer for every 100 meals served during the school year, according to the report.

The state spent $1.3 million sponsoring its Summer Food Service Program in 2002, with $25,000 going to school districts and the rest to nonprofit organizations, Thunder said. More than 481,000 meals and snacks were served, Thunder said.

But educators and children's advocates say the state could be doing even more to make sure students don't go hungry during the summer.

The state's Summer Food Service Program, which feeds children who aren't in school, reaches less than 5 percent of the students who qualify, said Vista Suarez, consultant for the Nevada Department of Education's Office of Child Nutrition and School Health.

The problem is twofold, she said. The paperwork required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, can be overwhelming, and the federal government is slow to reimburse the cost.

The USDA has made some strides in the last year in reducing the red tape but organizations still need extra encouragement to get involved, Suarez said.

"We've identified the need, but we need more local governments and private nonprofit groups to actually do the program," Suarez said. "There's always room for improvement."

Nonprofit groups rely on quick reimbursements to continue their programs, and are forced to stop when they don't get the checks in time, Earl White, of the Courtney Family Resource Center in Las Vegas said.

"The paperwork is unbelievable," said White, whose group provides summer lunches daily to more than two dozen children. "You spend so much time with documentation when you should be spending time feeding kids."

Last summer the USDA created a summer seamless waiver that allowed schools offering summer lunches to run the program as an extension of the school's regular lunch program, circumventing extra paperwork.

The hope was that more schools would feed students during their off months.

It seems to be working in Clark County, where 46 percent of students qualify for free or reduced meals. A record 24 public schools that otherwise would not be open are offering lunch this summer. Another year-round school is offering free meals to children on track break

"With the continued use of the seamless waiver by the school district the opportunity to feed hungry kids in the summer will grow immeasurably if the school district will make that commitment,' said Cherie Jamason, president of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

"I think we're doing our part. I am happy with what we're doing," Lana Planck, a senior supervisor for the Clark County School District's food service department.

Pat Cook, a consultant for the state Education Department, says that a trend in year-round schools may be affecting how many children are fed during the summer. The number of 12-month schools statewide is growing, from 97 in 1998 to 111 this year, but they are built in newer developments in middle class neighborhoods, where participation in the free school lunch program is low.

"It's a combination of things," Cook said Friday. "We need to serve more kids."

At year-round Cartwright Elementary School in Henderson just 12 percent of students qualify for free and reduced meals, but it's still a much-needed program, Principal Emily Aguero said. Students are able to purchase breakfast for 30 cents, compared with the regular price of 80 cents, and lunch for 40 cents, compared with $1, Aguero said.

"Parents are struggling no matter where they're living. It's necessary to have it at every school," said Aguero. "It allows them to get the nourishment they need that they aren't getting from home."

At Oran K. Gragson Elementary School in Las Vegas, 70 percent of the students receive free or reduced priced meals, Principal Charles Anderson said.

"Parents work all different hours; they may not there in the morning and evening," Anderson said. "They don't have to worry about preparing meals for their kids when they get it here."

Even parents whose children do not participate in the meal program can see its benefits.

Vincent Turturro, a parent of two girls at Lorna J. Kesterson Elementary School in Henderson, does not participate in the program but said helping those in need should be a universal feeling.

"To me, if you don't take care of kids now, those are the ones that will be knocking on your door later," Turturro said.

One of the organizations new to the summer program is the Courtney Family Resource Center, in the Fremont Villas Complex on North 15th Street.

At lunch last Tuesday, about a dozen children ranging from 3 to 7 years old gathered at a picnic-style table for chef's salad, oranges, crackers and milk.

White, vice president of the center's board of directors, said his organization was forced to cancel its lunch program in 1998 when the sponsor, a local church, decided it was no longer cost effective for it to participate. At its height the program served meals to 100 children a day during the school year, White said.

White said he doubted the number of children taking part in the summer lunch program will ever match the number served during the school year five years ago, in part because of the changing demographics of the downtown community.

With businesses returning to the area and spurring job growth, fewer children meet the federal standard to receive free meals, White said.

The number may be smaller, but they still need support, White said.

Using its own funds, the center tries to provide meals for parents who bring their children to the summer lunch program, White said. Case managers also try to help parents find employment and refer them to other agencies that may be able to provide additional assistance.

Last week Damian Thomas, a single father, came by the center for the first time with his son and ended up asking White to help him find a job.

Thomas said the lunch program gives his son a chance to play with other children, as well as get a nutritious meal.

Felicia Thompson brings her 2-year-old daughter to lunch to be with other kids and says the program has helped her out.

"No one should turn anyone down if they're hungry," Thompson said.