S.L. District gets A for feeding needy kids

Salt Lake City School District is among the best for feeding hungry children.

This week the district received the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Best Practices Award — Reaching Needy Children in the Summer."

Last summer the district was able to target low-income children and serve nearly 400,000 meals. It is the second time in three years the Salt Lake City School District has received the award.

Darlene Sanchez, regional representative from the USDA, gave the award to the district this week, saying Salt Lake City has shown significant gains in finding and feeding needy children.

"Every year we look to schools in our 10-state region to see who's doing something really good," Sanchez said. "Summer programs are so important to USDA because kids during the school year have access to nutrition and to a healthy meal but not always in the summer.

She said there are so many barriers in the summer program — targeting areas, getting the word out, and finding where children are who need it.

"We've been promoting summer meals to children for the last few years, and it's been an uphill struggle in many parts of the country," Sanchez said. "But in Salt Lake City, you all have broken the mold and you really are a shining example."

Steve Blackman, issues advocate for Utahns Against Hunger, said this year Salt Lake City was ranked No. 3 in the nation for food insecurity — that is, people who don't know the source of their next meal.

He said many factors contribute to that ranking, including large families, low wages and above-average mortgage costs.

Plus, Utah is on the low end of the list for states that participate in food stamps.

"Our employees here deal with kids each day — they sometimes feed kids and know that it is their only meal," said Kelly Orton, district director of child nutrition. "They saw a need in the community and were able to address it."

In 1998 the district was serving slightly less than 120,000 summer meals — breakfast and lunch — to children in the summer. In 2004 they had hit almost 390,000. Orton said by the end of this summer they will be more than 400,000.

"We knew we could do more," Orton said. "We just had to put our heads together and looked at the demographics to find areas with more needy children."

They also formed a partnership with Utahns Against Hunger and expanded into Granite District's West Valley City, creating over 50 sites.

Salt Lake City serves free breakfast and lunch to anyone younger than 18, while adults are charged $2.50 for a meal. They have established different sites in public parks and schools all over the valley in areas with high need.

"What this (award) means is, we're excelling in providing meals to children, and we have employees that really care about finding these kids that need help," Orton said.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com