Addressing Food Insecurity During Summer

Image

Health Equity Monthly Focus
By Anita Ramsetty, MD, Director of Health Equity

July 2024

Many of us think of summer as a time of abundance: more sun, more warmth, more varied fruits and veggies, free time for children and more relaxation. For some, however, summertime brings a challenge we don’t often think about. For households with children, the summertime away from school can bring additional challenges for food access—sometimes called the “summer hunger gap.” 

Throughout the year school meals help provide much needed nourishment for school-aged children who are experiencing or at risk for food insecurity, which has been shown to contribute to poor rates of learning, growth and development as well as higher chances of being diagnosed with attention deficits. During the summer when school is not in session, these vulnerable children and their families may face shortages of food. 

New Jersey participates in a summer EBT program that adds more funding to existing SNAP program participants. There are also various federally funded summer nutrition programs in different cities and states to help address food shortages that occur during the summer months. 

Here at Englewood Health, we are actively engaged in screening our adult patients over the age of 18 for social determinants of health including food insecurity. For patients with children in their households, we want to encourage them to utilize available resources, including summer EBT, to address this concern and ensure everyone, especially our children, have what they need to continue to thrive healthfully.