June 30. 2010
Il!r^Jortlanh OOhscruer
Page 7
Kids’ Summer Meal Sites Open
Program
supports good
nutrition
D rew R afaella D akessian
T he P ortland O bserver
For many students who attend
Portland Public Schools, going to
school isn’t just a place to learn, but
also to eat.
With school out for the summer,
students across the country who
rely on the school system for sup­
port will have to look elsewhere. But
luckily, here in Portland, parents
have some options.
Forty nine percent o f students
in the district qualify for free- and
reduced lunches, says Portland
Public Schools spokesm an Matt
Shelby. For these kids, school
m eals are their prim ary source o f
nutrition. During sum m er break,
these students are in danger o f
going hungry when they should
be going ohtside to play. Starting
this week, however, they’ll be able
to do both.
Hunger pangs are gripping large
swaths o f the country. President
Barack Obama has made it his goal
to end childhood hunger by 2015,
and it looks like he has his work cut
out for him. A report by the Food
Research and Action Center found
that one in four respondents in
households reported having trouble
feeding themselves.
by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Kids from the Gateway neighborhood o f northeast Portland enjoy healthy snacks and sandwiches at
the Gateway Park Apartments thanks to Project Summer, a child nutrition program.
photo by
In Portland, there is help for these
A collaborative effort between to serve nutritious meals to low-
families. This summer will mark the the school system, Portland Parks income children when school isn’t
seventh year that kids can partici­ and Recreation and various non­ in session.
pate in supervised activities and eat profit organizations, Project Sum­
By and large, Project Summer
a good meal at community locations mer is part o f a the Sum m er Food seems to be thriving: Last year, al­
throughout the city in what is known Service Program for Children, a 1916 most a thousand kids participated
as Project Summer
federal initiative that provides funds in the Summer Food Program on an
average day, says Annie Kirschner,
Child Nutrition Outreach Coordina­
tor for the non-profit Partners for a
Hunger-Free Oregon.
However, this accounts for only
29 percent o f students who relied on
a subsidized school lunch during
the year. So actors in Project Sum­
mer are now making outreach a pri­
ority.
“We send out information to
every student’s household at the
beginning o f the summer,” says
Shelby. “A flyer is being sent out
this week that lists summer oppor­
tunities.”
Informing families o f the oppor­
tunity is only half the battle. Getting
around is another problem.
“During the summer it’s a bit.. .of
a challenge because people have to
get to the parks, and that can be
challenging for folks that don’t have
transportation,” says Shelby.
Kirschner says that there is help
for cash-strapped families, so that
getting around isn ’ t a barrier to their
kids getting a good meal. Financed
transportation is available so that
children who want meals can get
them regardless o f limited means,
she said.
’’Especially in rural areas, [fami­
lies] look to the private sector to
provide transportation to the kids,”
adds Kirschner. Since federal reim­
bursement only accounts for $3.25
per lunch served, “Churches and
other private groups have really
stepped up.”
Charles Ford
Service Friday
Longtime community activist and African-American
elder Charles Ford died June 24 at age 80.
Ford was active in the federal Model Cities program
o f the early 1960s and 1970s, was a longtime board
member o f the Boise Neighborhood Association, and
represented that group on the board o f the Northeast
Coalition o f Neighborhoods for more than 20 years,
starting with its inception in 1975. He received a Spirit o f
Portland award in 1988.
Bom in Hickory, Miss., he graduated from Rust Col­
lege in that state. He moved to Portland in 1951.
A public service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 2, at
Maranatha Church o f God, 4222 N.E. 12th Ave.
L egal N otices
photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Good in the Neighborhood
Youth and their adult m entors from the Leisure Hour Junior G olf Club participate in Saturday's Good in
the Neighborhood Parade, part o f la st weekend's annual m ulticultu ral m usic and food festival held at
King School Park.
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