Georgia has rolled out a new initiative aimed at directly combating child hunger during the crucial summer months when school is not in session to provide regular meals. The US Department of Agriculture's national program, commonly referred to as SUN Meals, has found its local iteration in the Peach State under the title Happy Helpings. According to GPB News, the program commenced this summer and includes meal distribution at various locales such as parks, recreation centers, and specific community hubs like the Buck Melton Boys and Girls Club in Macon.
Senior advisor for food, nutrition, and consumer services with the USDA, Shavana Howard, emphasized the program's origins tracing back to challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The pandemic, we definitely learned that kids needed options for healthy meals to continue throughout the school year," Howard stated in a GPB News interview. Recognizing this, the government efforts, in a rare bipartisan moment, led to the conception of these meal initiatives to ensure kids do not go hungry once the school year concludes.
The gravity of the situation is underscored by Tamika Boone, representing Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning, who administrates Happy Helpings. The food insecurity rate remains a stubborn problem, particularly for the younger population. Boone relayed to GPB News, "The child food insecurity rate has been relatively consistent post COVID." "So we're still at about 16% for a child food insecurity rate. So that has not changed significantly." To address the persistence of this issue, Happy Helpings has branched out to include grab and go meals at various rural outposts.
Boone also shared details on the program's outreach, noting its steady progression, "We are seeing more meals being served. We're seeing more areas picking up and serving meals. And so we're, we're chipping away at that child food insecurity, one program, one meal at a time," according to GPB News. However, Georgia has notably opted not to participate in another USDA initiative, the SUN Bucks program. This additional measure provides a $120 summer-only grocery benefit, which the states that partake must match by half. Georgia is one of a dozen states that chose not to enroll in this supplementary effort to bolster children's nutrition during summer.
