During the school year, roughly 650,000 Tennessee children get free or reduced-priced school lunches.
But only a fraction of those youngsters participate in a summer program that aims to make sure low-income school children don't go hungry just because school's not in session.
Last summer, only 42,000 youngsters participated in Tennessee's Summer Food Service Program, according to officials from the state Department of Human Services, which runs the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded program.
"When school is out, the need to reach more children is great," said Devin Stone, spokesman for the state human services agency.
That's why the agency is looking for more groups -- including schools, private nonprofit organizations, government entities and nonprofit residential camps -- to serve up free meals this summer.
"[We'd like] as many as we can get to help meet the needs of the nearly 19,000 [children] in Hamilton County that are eligible," Stone said.
Olivet Baptist Church on M.L. King Boulevard has agreed to participate. So has the city of Chattanooga, which will launch an "Eat and Greet" pilot program in which youths age 18 and under can get free breakfast and lunch at 15 of the city's Youth and Family Development Centers. The meals -- including one hot meal a week -- will be prepared in the kitchen at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center and then will be delivered to the centers, said Enora "Nori" Moss, spokeswoman for the city's Youth and Family Development department.
"It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of work that we're happy to do," Moss said.
The city got a $30,000 Out-of-School-Time grant from the National League of Cities to help fund the pilot program.
Since 2010, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga has operated summer feeding sites. The program grew to more than 50 sites last summer, including North Georgia, and the YMCA hopes to add more this summer.
Currently, 130 sites in the Chattanooga area are slated to participate in the Summer Food Service Program, Stone said via email.
"Some sponsors make food from scratch, others utilize meal vendors," Stone said. "We encourage sponsors to create quality, delicious, nutritious meals that children want to eat. We also provide assistance in the development of menus."
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/tim.omarzu or twitter.com/TimOmarzu or 423-757-6651.