CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Chillicothe City Schools is one of multiple districts across Ohio awarded grant funding through No Kid Hungry Ohio. The initiative, which recently announced over $104,000 in grants, aims to expand access to summer meals for children across the state.

For many children, free and reduced-price school meals are a crucial source of nutrition during the academic year. However, when schools close for the summer, these meals become unavailable, placing additional strain on families’ already tight budgets. This issue is particularly acute in rural areas.

Research indicates that over 80% of families spend more on groceries during the summer months, with an average increase of $168 per month. Summer meal programs were established to address this gap, but they have historically reached only a small fraction of the children in need due to barriers such as transportation, fuel costs, extreme weather, and parents’ work schedules. In rural areas, where children often live far from meal sites, these challenges are especially pronounced.

“There’s long been a huge gap between the number of kids getting meals in the summertime and the kids who really need them—particularly in rural communities,” said Ashley Roudebush, No Kid Hungry Ohio manager. “New flexibilities for summer meals in rural communities mean that no longer has to be the case. We’re excited to support these schools and community groups in offering summer meals in ways that work for their community—like allowing families to pick up multiple meals at a time or even offering home delivery.”

In addition to funding, No Kid Hungry is helping families locate summer meal sites through a Free Meals Finder map and a texting hotline. Parents and caregivers can text the word “FOOD” (or “COMIDA”) to 304-304 to find nearby meal sites.

The grant funding and support provided by No Kid Hungry Ohio aim to ensure that more children have access to nutritious meals during the summer months, alleviating some of the financial burdens on families and ensuring children do not go hungry when school is out.