Summer BreakSpot

Free Meals for Kids and Teens!

Many children receive free meals through the School Breakfast and National School Lunch Programs during the school year.  When school lets out for the summer, many of these children are at risk of hunger or poor nutrition. Through Summer BreakSpot, children and teens age 18 and under can receive free breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner at Summer BreakSpot locations.. Summer BreakSpot ensures children have access to the nutritious meals they need to grow, learn, and play during the summer months so that their bodies and minds are healthy and strong for the upcoming school year.

Many sites are within walking distance, and some sites are mobile, moving to different neighborhoods throughout the day. United Way of Palm Beach County supports enrichment activities at Mobile Summer BreakSpot sites through community partnerships for nutrition education, literacy, water safety, and more!

For PBC residents: To find a location near you, dial 2-1-1 or visit summerbreakspot.com.

For Outreach Resources to promote Summer BreakSpot, visit summerbreakspot.com.

United Way of Palm Beach County is organizing a Summer Book Drive through our Emerging Leaders group for Summer BreakSpot locations. Books are a fantastic draw for kids to participate in the meal program and help prevent “summer slide”*. Books are needed for all grade levels: Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, and High School.

Please drop off books at the Palm Beach County Food Bank located at 701 Boutwell Road, Suite A-1, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33461 on weekdays from 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM.

*What Is the Summer Slide?
The concept of the summer slide has been on researchers’ radar since at least 1996, when one of the first comprehensive studies on the phenomenon was published. The study showed that kids lose significant knowledge in reading and math over summer break, which tends to have a snowball effect as they experience subsequent skill loss each year. A more recent study of children in 3rd to 5th grades also showed that students lost, on average, about 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math during summer break.  Source: Scholastic.com, August 2, 2022.

The Summer BreakSpot Program is federally funded under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered, in Florida, by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Sites are locally operated by nonprofit sponsors that provide the free meals and are reimbursed by the USDA.

Top Literacy Statistics

1. In middle-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1. In low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children.
2. According to the American Library Association and literacy research, approximately 61% of low-income families do not have any children’s books in their homes.
3. 37% of children arrive at kindergarten without the skills necessary for lifetime learning.
4. 50% of children from low-income communities start first grade up to two years behind their peers.
5. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)found that children who were read to frequently are also more likely to: count to 20 or higher than those who were not (60% vs. 44%), write their own names (54% vs. 40%), read or pretend to read (77% vs. 57%)
6. One in six childrenwho are not reading proficiently in the third grade does not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that for proficient readers. (rate is higher in children from low-income families and rural areas)
7. According to the Department of Education, the more students read or are read to for fun on their own time and at home, the higher their reading scores, generally.
8. The number of books in the homecorrelates significantly with higher reading scores for children.
9. Students who choose what they read and have an informal environmentin which to read tend to be more motivated, read more and show greater language and literacy development.
10. Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25%in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week.

Important Point of Information:

In the United States, 54% of American adults read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, and nearly one in five adults reads below a third-grade level. Lower literacy rates directly correlate to higher unemployment rates, reduced income, and overall impacts U.S. competitiveness on the global stage. Understanding both K-12 literacy rates as well as adult literacy rates at a local level is critical to improve overall literacy policy and drive access to literacy programming. Source: Literacy – The Policy Circle

*Works Cited: Literacy Project. Admin Travis. Feb 14, 2019. 30 Key Child Literacy Stats Parents Need To Be Aware Of – Literacy Project Foundation.

https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/.National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Annie E. Casy Foundation: eric.ed.gov. Read Across America: nea.org