TALLAHASEE, Fla. – Florida y otros estados están haciendo un mejor trabajo al llevar comidas nutritivas a los estudiantes de bajos recursos durante las vacaciones de verano, quienes normalmente las comen en la escuela. Sin embargo, un reporte del Centro de Investigación y Acción Alimentaria (FRAC, por sus siglas en inglés) detectó que puede hacerse más.

Y es que para miles de niños y niñas de Florida, el gozo de la vacación de verano puede ser opacado por las penurias del hambre. A nivel nacional, unos 174 mil pequeños recibieron comidas de verano en 2013, de acuerdo a un Reporte del Estatus de la Nutrición Estival (SNSR), realizado por el Centro FRAC. Al comparar eso con el millón 200 mil que recibieron comidas gratis o con descuento durante el ciclo escolar, la gente queda como Rebeca Brislain, directora ejecutiva de la Asociación de Bancos de Alimentos de Florida (FAFB), quien está preocupada de que muchos pequeños con una necesidad grande no estén recibiendo ayuda en verano.

“El verano es lo peor, porque los niños no van a la escuela y si no tienes un programa de alimentación de verano en sus comunidades, eso significa entonces dos comidas más por niño.”

De acuerdo al Centro de Investigación y Acción Alimentaria, Florida está entre los cinco primeros estados que perdieron en el fondeo federal para comidas de verano, que hubiera podido alimentar a 312 mil niños más. El reporte muestra que la participación de Florida en los Programas Estivales de Nutrición subió del puesto 27 al 25 del país, en 2013.

Signe Anderson, analista Senior de política nutricional infantil del FRAC, dice que una manera de elevar esos números es un mayor involucramiento de las escuelas durante el verano.

“Durante la desaceleración económica muchas escuelas cierran sus puertas y ya no ofrecen cursos de verano, y con eso desaparecieron también los recursos de verano. Si hubiera financiación disponible para escuelas de verano, o al menos para programas de verano en general, se llegaría muy lejos.”

Birslain expresó que las normas federales vigentes que regulan la manera de administrar los programas de nutrición de verano a veces pueden dificultar la distribución de alimento a los niños que lo necesitan.

“Porque si podemos facilitarle a alguien de esos lugares situados en comunidades que den acceso a este programa – si podemos facilitarles ofrecer este programa en su comunidad, podemos facilitarle a los niños que tengan comida.”

El reporte del FRAC recomienda más involucramiento de las municipalidades locales como las ciudades, departamentos de parques y diversión, la YMCA local, y clubes de niñas y niños.

Más información en www.frac.org.


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September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health facilities at the community level are chipping in, too. Community Health Centers are federally qualified clinics that provide primary care to all patients, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

Shannon Bacon, director of equity and external affairs with Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, said since 2021, locations in this region have elevated patient screening to get a better understanding of their needs, including whether they have enough healthy food to eat.

"One example, they could ask, you know, in the past 12 months, were they ever worried about whether their food would run out before they had money to buy more?" she said.

She added that type of dialogue with a trusted health provider can help reduce any stigma about hunger and suggested this broader approach to meeting patient needs can help lead to better outcomes for these patients. Through a partnership with the Great Plains Food Bank, some Community Health Centers in North Dakota have onsite pantries, where patients who screen positive for food insecurity are sent home with fruits, vegetables and other healthy items.

Bacon said during these screenings, people also can be referred to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits, and added that there's an awareness gap in which some patients who meet the criteria don't know where to turn in their community.

"One health center found that a large majority of the patients who said, 'Yes, I am interested in getting connected with food and nutrition resources today,' also said they hadn't visited a pantry in the last year," she continued.

She said asking these questions during a wellness visit can help communities better support individuals who are falling through the cracks in the local safety net.


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California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a panel discussion today on options for getting healthy food to the unhoused population.

The event will feature firsthand accounts from people experiencing homelessness, plus experts from local agencies and nonprofits.

Alba Velasquez, executive director of the council, said the discussion is aimed at finding solutions.

"We want to center our conversation around what sorts of policies need to be in place in order to make systemic change that would allow more, healthier food options to be easily accessible to some of our most vulnerable communities," Velasquez explained.

She noted the panel will hear from community members with lived experience and will explore a more dignified approach to providing food, favoring healthier, more thoughtful choices, instead of defaulting to cheap, convenient options like instant noodles or pasta.

Velasquez suggested policymakers look for ways to increase acceptance of electronic benefits transfer at local restaurants for hot meals.

"How do we make hot meals easier to access for folks that don't have refrigeration units to store, or don't even have a secure place to stay, because they're constantly moving?" Velasquez asked.

The panel, which is open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. today at the Huffington Center in Koreatown. Speakers include the host of a podcast called "We the unhoused," as well as representatives from the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the Los Angeles City Controller's office, the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority and the Skid Row People's Market.


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In observance of Hunger Action Month, a new statewide collaborative has launched to address food insecurity in South Dakota.

Nearly 14% of U.S. households struggled getting food last year, according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

That includes over 100,000 South Dakotans, said Timothy Meagher, who's on the steering committee for the South Dakota Healthy Nutrition Collaborative.

Its members are looking to tackle food insecurity by integrating a network of resources - from healthcare groups and universities, to community foundations and food producers.

Meagher said the group aims to "align resources to actions."

"Because we believe we can improve nutrition," said Meagher, "decrease the disease, and provide every South Dakota citizen with an opportunity to be the best version of themselves."

Along with the new national data, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement that the high rate of food insecurity is "a direct outcome of congressional actions" - including blocking the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, and restricting access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Meagher said the collaborative's one-year goals include assessing the landscape of organizations that deal with hunger and improving coordination among them, elevating voices of advocates, researchers and people experiencing food insecurity, and advancing policy to address the issue.

"Basically, we're putting on a whiteboard," said Meagher, "'Here's what we know collectively. What do we need to know, and how do we take action on it?'"

Nutritious diets can help prevent cancer and heart disease, which are the two leading causes of death in the state, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.


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