Summer Food 2004 Report Card

Hunger Does Not Take a Vacation

Illinois’ Summer Report Card (2003)
For Feeding Hungry Children when School is Out

During the 2003 school year, Illinois fed 674,142 children in the National
School Lunch Program. During the summer months of 2003 in the School
Lunch and Summer Food combined, Illinois only fed

136,821 children
(15,766 less than 2002).

Illinois’ ratio of children in Summer Food Programs to the number of
children in the National School Lunch Program is:

20 children per 100.

If Illinois reached a ratio of 40 children per 100 in the regular School Lunch
Program, 269,657 more children could be fed during the summer months.
The additional federal reimbursement dollars to Illinois would be

$6,867,609.

The decrease in the number of children receiving summer meals in
Summer Food Service program in July 1998 compared to July 2003 is

91,568 children or 61 % decrease

Parks, schools, churches, and community centers are all possible sites
where children are fed during the summer months. In 1998, Illinois had
1,769 sites compared to 1,256 sites in 2003. The decrease in sites in
Illinois for the past 5 years is:

- 29 %.