| Releases & Statements
For Immediate Release:
Monday, June 26, 2006
Contact: Charlene Piper
212.669.4691
Public
Advocate Gotbaum Releases Listing
of
Free Summr Meal Sites for City Children
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today
unveiled a list of free Summer Food Service Program sites she
compiled in conjunction with the New York City Coalition Against
Hunger. The Coalition also released maps that are searchable by
zip code for families to locate nearby summer meal sites. The
program, which will be open to all children up to age 19, begins
on Thursday, June 29.
“In 2004, more than 400,000
New York City children lived in households without sufficient
food,” Gotbaum said. “We simply cannot allow a single
child to go hungry, especially when we have the resources available
to prevent it. That’s why I am releasing this list of Summer
Food Service Program Sites, which gives the neediest families
another option to feed their children.”
“We thank Public Advocate Gotbaum
for highlighting this vital program,” said Joel Berg, executive
director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. “Children
tend to burn more calories during the summer, just as school breakfast
and lunch programs often end. That’s why it is so important
they access special summer meals.”
The federally funded
Summer Food Service Program provides breakfast and lunch, or lunch
and a snack. The Public Advocate’s list contains nearly
500 sites scheduled to open in impoverished neighborhoods. Children
are not required to provide identification or documentation in
order to participate in the program. The list is available online
at http://www.pubadvocate.nyc.gov,
or by calling the Public Advocate’s Ombudsman Unit at (212)
669-7250. Maps of each site can be found on the New York City
Coalition Against Hunger’s website at http://www.nyccah.org.
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Summer
Meal Sites 2006 (PDF)
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