Hi,
This fall, the parents of 433,000 Washington children signed their kids up for free and reduced-price school meals; 42% of all Washington school children.
But only a small fraction of kids who eat an affordable or free lunch during the school year get that same opportunity in the summer - just 11%.
Tomorrow, Friday, January 29th, is Hunger Action Day! Even if you can't be in Olympia to speak up for policies that feed hungry kids and families, you can boost the power of Hunger Action Day.
Summer meal programs help kids get nutritious food and help families make ends meet during the summer months when school meals aren't available.
Getting summer meal programs going and keeping them going takes initiative, coordination and effort at the local level. A small investment in capacity building grants to high-need communities will help get programs started and draw down millions in federal funds for meals for kids in local communities.
During these tough times. The recession has caused state revenue to plummet, forcing deep cuts to supports families need. Now is the time to both leverage federal dollars and raise state revenue to help families survive these tough times and help our state recover.
Your action is especially important. One of your legislators is on a key budget committee.
Send your legislators a message now and help ensure Washington makes a small investment now to increase kids' access to meal programs this summer. Send your message today - and help make Friday's Hunger Action Day a success!
Thank you for taking action for kids.
Sincerely,
Jon
Jon Gould, Deputy
Director
800.854.KIDS x19
P.S. Join us for Have a Heart for Kids Day, the Children's Alliance advocacy day in Olympia, on Monday, February 15th. Don't miss the biggest gathering of child advocates during the legislative session. Learn more and register now!
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