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Dear Chief State School Officers:

Because of the difficulty that many families have feeding their children during the summer months, the following letter from Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discusses opportunities for children to receive free meals through federal summer meals programs.  Please take a look at this letter, and, if you deem it appropriate, forward the letter to your district superintendents and school principals.  Thank you for your assistance.

Adam Honeysett
Managing Director,
State and Local Public Engagement

________________________

April 24, 2014

Dear Colleague:



Children are America's greatest treasure and ensuring they  have the proper nutrition to learn, grow up healthy, and reach their full  potential is one of our most important duties as community members, educators,  and leaders. Nearly 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared  the *War on Poverty*, a set of initiatives that continues to expand  educational opportunities, secure economic equality, and provide nutritious  meals to those in need. Our nation has a long and impressive history of  ensuring that its needy citizens, especially children, have enough food in  order to thrive. Your leadership can help to ensure that those same  children do not go hungry in your community this summer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) summer meal  programs that are available to schools include the Summer Food Service Program  (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option of the National School Lunch Program  (NSLP). These programs operate in partnership with the Federal  government, State agencies, and local organizations to serve free meals to  children age 18 years and younger. USDA provides reimbursement for meals;  State agencies administer the program; and local organizations, including  schools, nonprofits, parks and recreation departments, libraries, and faith-based  groups serve the meals. Summer meals programs are critical to children in  need because we know that only a portion of students participate in summer meal  programs compared to those that participate during the school year. During the 2012-2013 school year, approximately 21 million children were served  free and reduced price meals, while only approximately 3.5 million children  participated in a meal program during the summer 2013.  
    
  We need your leadership and assistance to help feed hungry  children this coming summer. There are many ways you can assist, but  specifically, you can encourage superintendents and principals to assist in the  following ways:

- **Provide children in your community with meals  at your schools this summer.** Local schools are the best sites for  summer feeding efforts. Children and parents are familiar with local  schools, and schools are known for providing nutritious food in a safe  environment. Even if your school will not be offering summer school, if  it is located in a low-income area, it can be a summer feeding site and fill  that important meal gap for students so that they are ready to learn when they  return to school in the fall.

- **Ask teachers and staff in your schools to  share information about nearby summer meal sites, whether the site is at your  school or at other locations in your community.** School leaders can  find local feeding sites by calling 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE or  visiting www.whyhunger.org/findfood.  Schools communicate regularly and effectively with the families of children in  your community. You can help reach out and connect these families with  summer meals before the school year ends and continue to make a difference in  the lives of your students throughout the summer.

- **Be a champion in your community.**As  a recognized leader, you have many opportunities to meet with other community  leaders and organizations that have an interest in ensuring children have  resources to succeed. Take the time to discuss summer meals programs and  how others can get involved by becoming a sponsor or site that serves meals.

To learn more about the USDA summer meal programs visit: www.summerfood.usda.gov. In  addition, the Food and Nutrition Service regional office staff is available to  provide technical assistance and answer any questions you may have on USDA  summer meal programs at the following link: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns-regional-offices.

Thank you, as always, for your dedication and commitment to our  children. By working together, we can be sure our children have the food  and nutrition needed to continue to grow and succeed.

Sincerely,



|/s/
Thomas J. Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture | /s/
Arne Duncan
Secretary of Education
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