It’s hard to learn when you’re hungry. For many of the nearly 1 in every 4 kids in Arizona who struggle with hunger, school breakfast and lunch are the only meals they get regularly.

Like many other groups, including hunger advocacy organizations, schools, and families struggling with hunger, we were ecstatic to hear that the United States Department of Agriculture extended FREE school meals for all children through the 2021–2022 school year!

This program was instituted during the pandemic (along with flexibility for picking up meals for schools using distance learning) and we’re thrilled to see this critical support to families continue for at least another year.

These meals will provide relief to many food-insecure families and will allow the children to focus on what is most important at their age – learning!

We want as many families struggling to feed their kids to know about this extension and our team recently launched a statewide digital ad campaign to reach as many parents as possible. You can help by sharing this post with your friends, you never know who might be on the verge of food insecurity.

We want to hear from you! Have you visited a summer meal site recently? Has it helped your family? Share your story to help other struggling families access this much-needed resource