“You might think feeding a child during a school break is not a big deal…but it’s just enough of an extra expense to impact other areas of life and once again start the spiral downward. It is the cracks which create the gaps which become the tipping point that can be one’s downfall.”
– Tammy, single mother of one child
Two thirds of low-income families said they’d had to choose between buying food and paying for their utilities during summer break, according to a study by No Kid Hungry.
Right here in Bellevue, over 18% of children are living in poverty.
During the school year, these students rely on free and reduced-price meals to supplement what their families can provide. For these children, summer break often means summer hunger. Tight budgets are stretched even further to cover the cost of replacing school meals.
This summer, your support of the Breaktime-Mealtime program is providing vital nutrition and ensure kids return to the classroom well-fed and ready to learn in the fall.
A break from school shouldn’t mean a break from nutrition.
This June, 1,700+ students have requested support from Breaktime-Mealtime to help ease the pang of summer hunger.
Breaktime-Mealtime helps to fill the nutritional gap for these kids by providing grocery store vouchers to replace the meals they usually receive at school.
“For families with one or two children, buying extra meals during summer can be a hardship when they’re barely scraping by. Try as they might to anticipate this expense, buying extra food could have a negative impact on being able to pay bills.”
– Bellevue School District Staff
Food vouchers allow families of diverse backgrounds to select the food that fits their cultural and dietary needs. This is critical in a school district with more than 90 different languages spoken in student’s homes.
“This shift [to vouchers] gives our families choices…and choice is empowering.”
– Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent of the Bellevue School District
Vouchers provide flexibility for families experiencing homelessness.
“This program is extremely helpful for homeless families. A family in our school is currently living in a shelter. They can’t cook and don’t have space to store food. With the vouchers, they can buy simple deli items from Safeway.”
– Family Connections Center Staff
You’re helping more kids in our community have a FULL summer. Feed a child experiencing hunger today.
