AHA Completes 21st Year as Summer Food Service Program Organizer

Athens Housing Authority
300 S. Rocksprings St.
P.O. Box 1469 Athens GA 30603-1469
Telephone: 706.425.5300 TDD: 706.425.5417 Fax: 706.425-5299
www.athenshousing.org
For Release: Immediately
Contact: Marilyn Appleby, Communications Director, 706.425.5367
mappleby@athenshousing.org

The Athens Housing Authority completed its 21st year as the organizer of the Summer Food Service Program. This summer, a total of 25 day camps, church camps, sports camps, and tutoring programs acted as serving sites for this annual program in Athens-Clarke County. In all, 43,000 lunches were served during the course of the program which ran from June 1 – July 22, 2011.

“During the past two to three years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of lunches served at our sites,” says Geraldine Clarke, Athens Housing Authority Resident Support Director and coordinator for the Summer Lunch Program. “The Summer Food Service Program is filling a need for children and youth whose families may be facing food insecurity this time of year.”

The Summer Food Service Program serves the gap for families who depend on the school lunch program for a nutritious meal during the year. All meals provided for the Summer Lunch Program are free to participants and there is no income eligibility to receive the lunch.

“We’ll start planning during the winter months to make sure we’re ready for next summer,” says Clarke. “The Summer Lunch Program is important for many families in Athens so our goal is to help as many as possible.”

The Summer Food Service Program is sponsored through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Office of School Readiness. Acceptance and participation requirements for the program and all activities are the same for all regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

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