When it comes to providing summer meals to low-income children, Kansas ranks among the worst states in the nation. In fact, only Oklahoma fares worse in feeding poor children during the summer, reports The Hutchinson News.
35 counties in Kansas do not have a summer meals service program location. Most of those counties are in the state’s western half, including Rush, Ness, Hodgeman, Lane, Gray, Hamilton and Greeley counties.
The Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice in Lawrence recently held a few regional summits to address the problem. The aim of the meetings was to encourage communities to plan for a summer meals program in 2016. The Kansas Department of Education also participated in the summits, and the Kansas Health Foundation furnished funding for the project.