Schools that also provide meals for students during summer months are finding that adults in the household need the meals as well to keep from going hungry.
In Connecticut, the New Haven school district and a food bank recently began offering food for parents and guardians in response to anecdotal evidence, including stories of adults eating off children's plates.
Candice Stoiber is director of special nutrition programs for a Boston-based office of the U.S. Agriculture Department. She says summer meal coordinators around the United States have reported similar concerns, and her office has been talking with them about how to address the need.
Stoiber recommends the kind of partnership created by the New Haven district and the Connecticut Food Pantry.
