Think back on your favorite childhood memories of summer. What comes to mind? For me it’s swimming in Lake Michigan, riding bicycles with my friends, camping with my family and enjoying ice cream as often as my parents allowed. What I don’t remember is being hungry.

However, in my role at Kellogg overseeing our social impact work, I know that hunger is, unfortunately, a summer reality for far too many children. In the U.S., nearly all (six out of seven) children who eat a free or reduced-price lunch at school don’t have access to the same nutritious meals during the summer and even fewer have access to breakfast[1]. We’re working to change that.

A key element of our Kellogg’s® Better Days global signature purpose platform is feeding people in need and expanding feeding and nutrition education so children can reach their full potential. Doing our part to help fight summer hunger is an important aspect of this work. That’s why our company and its charitable funds partner with United Way Worldwide, No Kid Hungry and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) to support programs that increase access to food for kids in need when school is out. These summer-meal sites are a lifeline for low-income families who otherwise spend an extra $316 per month on food during the summer.[2]

• This summer, we’re feeding more kids in need by supporting United Way programs that provide free breakfasts and lunches in Battle Creek, Dallas, Des Moines, Detroit, Sacramento, Seattle and Jackson, TN.

• Kellogg is also a proud sponsor of No Kid Hungry’s Share Summer Tour that allows people to text ‘FOOD’ to 877-877 to find free summer-meals sites in their neighborhoods. People can also contact 211, a service supported by United Way, by dialing  211 or visiting  www.211.org to access essential health and human services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• We’re also advocating on behalf of hungry children everywhere by supporting FRAC’s Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report that measured the reach of summer nutrition programs.

You, too, can join our effort to end summer hunger by supporting the work of United Way, No Kid Hungry and FRAC. Most important, if you know someone in need, please pass along the text, phone number and URL above where they can find food and other resources. We know we can’t achieve our Breakfast for Better Days™ goals alone. Thank you for joining us in helping to make summer a little sunnier for kids in need.