the 13th juror

$106 million in federal tax dollars
never returned to Florida

• Assign each school board responsibility for ensuring that children of low-income families have access to at least one summer food site that is open for 35 days of summer within 5 miles of an elementary school with 50 percent or more free and reduced price school meal eligibility
• Ensure additional summer food sites within 10 miles of the remainder of elementary schools where over half the students attending are from low-income families

Florida ranks second in federal dollars unused for summer child nutrition. Only 13 percent of the approximately 1 million children eligible for free and reduced-price school meals are served by the federally underwritten Summer Food Service Program. And children in half a dozen Florida counties -- Calhoun, Clay, Holmes, Liberty, Wakulla and Walton -- had no access at all last summer.

This translates into many at-risk children and $106 million in federal tax dollars that never return to Florida.

Orange had 222 summer food sites, with 6 sponsors (but not the school board). That may sound like a lot of sites, but 22 counties had greater participation of eligible students in a summer nutrition program than Orange County’s 10%. The participation rates for other Central Florida counties last summer were: Volusia, 12.8%; Osceola, 12.6%; Lake. 7.1%; Brevard, 3.5%; and Seminole, 1.1% -- the lowest rate of the counties that had a summer food program.

You can check out the participation rates for other Florida counties here.

posted by Jacqueline Dowd @ 10:39 PM