National studies indicate only one of seven children who receive a free or reduced school lunch gets a similar meal over the summer. Officials with Kentucky's Department of Education believe the state's statistics are even more sobering.
Feeding hungry children in the summer requires mobile services and more sponsoring agencies. In Lexington, there are 35 feeding sites with hopes of establishing another 35 this summer.
Rick Christman with the non-profit Employment Solutions says there are criteria for setting up feeding locations.
"You have to establish a feeding time. You have to monitor the meals to make sure there's no adults getting the food. You have to make sure that the children eat the food. So, there's a lot of complex things in managing this program,” says Christman.
Christman adds many of the workers with Fresh Approach, the organization that helps put the meals together, are severely disabled. As a result, he says, the summer program provides work for people who need it as well as food for the kids.
