Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum has unveiled a list of free Summer Food Service Program sites - including two in the Forest Hills area - she has 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 will be open to children up to age 19.
“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 https://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 https://www.nyccah.org.
