NO CHILD SHOULD GO HUNGRY
No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. After 25 years of successfully investing in local nonprofits and helping find the best approaches to eradicating poverty and hunger, Share Our Strength launched No Kid Hungry in 2010.
Missouri implemented the national No Kid Hungry strategy. In 2016, the state launched a collaborative effort with the Family and Community Trust (FACT) and Share Our Strength to help local organizations around the state increase access to USDA nutrition programs for children.
In 2017, the University of Missouri Center for Health Policy joined FACT to support this work. In Missouri, the strategy includes grants and other resources. Together, we generate the will and skill to help communities feed children.
That’s our promise. And that’s how we’ll end childhood hunger, by ensuring that no matter the time of date, or time of year, we’ll be there for kids.
Serving Kids During School Closures
There are many reasons a school may experience closure – both anticipated, like summer and holiday breaks, but also unanticipated, such as a declared state of emergency, weather-related incidents, or facility failure. School food authorities and community organizations can leverage federal child nutrition programs during closure, so kids have access to nutritious meals.
Child Nutrition Program Options
There are two popular programs that are available when schools experience a closure – either planned or unplanned.
Missouri Seamless Summer Option (SSO) – School Food Authorities may act as sponsors for SSO. In Missouri, this program is administered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Missouri Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides organizations the ability to serve reimbursable meals to kids in their community, for free. School Food Authorities, local government agencies, colleges and universities, and non-profit and faith-based organizations may act as sponsors for SFSP. In Missouri, this program is administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Access the interactive inactive online map, allowing families to identify nearby locations providing free meals.
To serve free meals to children, SFSP and SSO meal sites must be located in low-income areas.
Additional Resources
Center for Best Practices
If you are looking for resources to help you plan and implement school breakfast, afterschool, or summer meals programs, look no further than the No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices. The Center for Best Practices Team has compiled the best of the best from across the country, and it’s all online for you. From breakfast in the classroom playbooks to recorded webinars. Everything you need to be successful is right there.
Anti-Hunger Toolkit
A Missouri-based toolkit was developed to serve as a resource to help address challenges for those interested in feeding hungry Missouri children. This toolkit is a collection of resources and applications to food programs that are available for children in Missouri
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No Kid Hungry MO
Help us end child hunger in Missouri.