USDA approves Alaska project to provide food to eligible children

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has created a demonstration project, Alaska Meals to You (M2Y), to reduce food insecurity in Alaska. Earlier this week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved DEED's request to operate Meals to You.

M2Y is a nutrition assistance program that has served children in rural communities throughout Alaska for the past three years. In the summer of 2023 alone, approximately 430,000 ready-to-eat meals were mailed to nearly 4,100 children in 11 communities where it was previously not possible to serve federally-funded Summer Food Service Program meals.

The program was originally operated by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, and now DEED will take the helm after receiving approval from USDA. M2Y will be an expansion of DEED's current Summer Food Service Program, which serves no-cost summer meals to school-aged children.

"Delivering meals to hungry children in Alaska requires a solution as unique as Alaska is. DEED is excited to build upon the proven success of Meals to You," said DEED Commissioner Dr. Deena Bishop.

To learn more about DEED's Summer Food Service Program, including Meals to You, please visit: www.education.alaska.gov/cnp/sfsp