Again this year, Second Harvest Heartland has teamed up with the Minnesota Vikings, Target and ConAgra to work with the Minnesota Department of Education to help facilitate the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Minnesota and help bring more meals to more kids.

You’ve heard the stats; 80% of kids in need will go without summer access to free or reduced-price lunch like those they access during the school year. When kids miss meals and go hungry, there are proven, devastating effects that can last a lifetime. We know from the Cost/Benefit Hunger Impact Study that hungry kids have a heightened propensity for having isolating or anti-social behaviors, tend to have lower math scores, are twice as likely to repeat a grade and three times as likely to be suspended from school.

Join us this year in support of the Summer Food Service Program, and ultimately in support of kids in our community who desperately need our help.

• Share the Summer Lunch Map with a family you know who might be in need, or with someone you know who works with families and kids in need.
• Help spread the word. Volunteer with Second Harvest Heartland to help canvass neighborhoods near established meal sites.
• Start a Share Your Lunch Drive with your friends, at work or in the neighborhood. Every $10 you raise will provide more than a meal-a-day for a child or working parent in need this summer.

For more information about our work with the Summer Food Service Program, simply click here.

Thanks to the Vikings Children’s Fund Summer Lunch Program, presented by Target, 60 kids got a chance to check out Vikings Training Camp on Monday, August 2^nd.  The kids, from the Salvation Army in Mankato, got on the field to view the Vikings practice, played in the Kids Zone, colored with sidewalk chalk and enjoyed a healthy lunch. But perhaps the best part of the day was when Vikings players Bernard Berrian, Ray Edwards, Chris Kluwe and Adrian Peterson stopped by to sign autographs.

The Vikings Children’s Fund Summer Lunch Program, presented by Target, has helped secure more than 500,000 additional grant supported meals to Minnesota children ages 1 to 18 this summer.

While at the event we also extended our sincere thanks to the Vikings for their work to end hunger by presenting the Hunger Hero award to Vikings team owner Mark Wilf.

Big thanks to the Minnesota Vikings’ leadership for all you do to support hungry kids in our community!

To fill the nutritional gap facing these children during the summer months, Second Harvest Heartland has teamed up with the Minnesota Vikings and Target to work with the Minnesota Department of Education to help facilitate the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Minnesota and help bring more meals to more kids this summer.

Do you know a family who could use a little extra help with food this summer?

Check out the Summer Lunch Map, an easy-to-use tool for finding free food for kids across the state this summer. Families can also call 2-1-1 from a landline or text 612-516-FOOD for locations.

Want to help?

Click here to make a gift. Together, we can ensure healthy, plentiful meals for Minnesota kids who need them to grow and thrive.

View the full set on Flickr

Special thanks to the Minnesota Vikings for all their efforts!

The Minnesota Vikings have donated a generous $92,000 to this effort, which will help expand the existing USDA-sponsored program. “The Vikings Children’s Fund aims to positively impact the well-being of our children and help provide them with the means to be healthy, strong and vibrant members of our community as they grow,” said Steve LaCroix, vice president of sales and marketing, chief marketing officer with the Minnesota Vikings. “Proper nutrition will always be essential to a child’s well-being, which is why the Vikings are honored to participate in this program with Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland.”

During the schoolyear, 270,000 children in Minnesota depend on free and reduced-cost school lunches – but only 20% of those children receive the same subsidized meals during the summer.

Together, we can help increase participation in the program and provide more meals to hungry children in our community. Visit www.missingmeals.org to learn more about this exciting new initiative, or visit www.hungersolutions.org.