We must update summer meals program

Tonight, one out of five children in Illinois will go to bed hungry. Nationwide, nearly 16 million children face hunger on a daily basis. With schools closing for the summer in a few weeks, it becomes even harder for low-income children across Illinois to have access to nutritious food.

To solve this problem, the summer meals program was signed into law 40 years ago this month so that children whose families usually rely on reduced-price or free lunches wouldn't go hungry during the summer months.

But only 12 percent of the children in Illinois in need of these meals utilize these programs. And the program itself hasn't been updated since being signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1975.

It's time to make a change so children throughout Illinois don't go hungry when helping hands are available.

Currently, the summer meals program operates in cities the same way it does in rural areas, and doesn't take into consideration the needs of individual communities.

For example, in rural areas without daily school buses, transportation barriers can make it very challenging for children to get to a summer meals site. Recent summers in urban Chicago have seen continual violence and gang-related activity, often making it unsafe for children to travel to a summer meals site or to sit outside and eat their meal.

This year, I will be working on improving the law with Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas to provide flexibility to local communities so that we can effectively reach kids across the state.

When kids get the nutrition they need in the summer, they feel better and have the confidence they need to learn more and contribute positively to our communities.

Making sure our kids are fed isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do for the future of Illinois and our country.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk

Highland Park