Summer Food Service Program Kick Off Day - Office of the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), administered by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) Child Nutrition Unit, was established to ensure that children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session; and

WHEREAS, meals that meet federal nutrition guidelines are provided to all children at approved SFSP sites; and

WHEREAS, imagination and creativity are increasingly understood as critical capacities needed for success in the 21^st century workforce; and

WHEREAS, the SFSP is one of the most underutilized federal programs, with approximately 10 percent of children who are eligible for the program receiving meals. More than 21 million children in the country receive meals through the National School Lunch Program during the school year, but during the summer only about 1 in 10 of those kids (3 million) receive meals through the federal Summer Food Service Program; and

WHEREAS, as a result, the ALSDE Child Nutrition Unit has worked to reach new sponsors through partnerships with national, state, and local organizations, becoming the first state in the region to experience a substantial rise in the total number of meals provided to underserved children through the SFSP, serving a total of 1,650,652 meals in 2013; and

WHEREAS, the annual Summer Food Service Program Rally, hosted this year by the Alabama State Department of Education, Troy City Schools, and the City of Troy aims to bring awareness to the SFSP and encourage more organizations to help fill the summer “nutrition gap” in underserved areas in Alabama:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim May 16, 2014, as

Summer Food Service Program Kick Off Day

in the State of the Alabama and urge schools, churches, governmental agencies, college and universities and private non-profit organizations to sponsor SFSP feeding sites to help ensure that all children in Alabama have access to nutritious meals in the summer