Mississippi skips summer food aid, deepening child hunger risk

Gov. Tate Reeves has opted Mississippi out of SUN Bucks for a third straight summer, turning away about $38 million in federal aid that would have sent $120 to each eligible child. The decision leaves roughly 320,000 Mississippi children who rely on free school meals with one less way to replace the breakfasts and lunches that vanish when classrooms close.

In Cleveland, Cleveland School District offers free breakfast and lunch during the school year for all enrolled students, and Shenika Newson, the district’s child nutrition director, can be reached at 662-843-9041 or snewson@cleveland.k12.ms.us. The district will also offer free breakfast and lunch through the Summer Food Service Program to anyone 18 and younger, on a first-come, first-served basis at posted sites and times.

USDA’s Summer Meals Site Finder lists nearby meal sites, directions, hours and contact information. Summer meals are available at approved schools, parks and other neighborhood locations at no cost to children 18 and under. Some rural communities also offer meal pick-up or delivery to address transportation and distance barriers that keep families from congregate sites.

Nearly three-quarters of Mississippi students rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year, and a national study found that only one in four Mississippi children who depend on those meals reached an in-person summer meal site on an average day in 2023. FRAC data show just over 2.8 million children participated in summer nutrition programs on an average day in July 2023, while summer lunch participation fell 5.7 percent from July 2022.

The Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Child Nutrition administers eight USDA child nutrition programs, and the state has participated in the National School Lunch Program since the beginning. The federal rural non-congregate option was made permanent in 2023 to reduce the transportation and distance barriers that hit Delta communities hardest.