Without learning-based summer activities, most kids will go back to school in the fall knowing less than they did in the spring. Studies have documented the Summer Learning Gap and its consequences: kids who don’t read and learn during the summer quickly fall behind their peers, and end up farther behind every year.

More than one in five kids—nearly 227,200 in King County—face daily food insecurity. In high-impact districts some schools report nearly 90 percent of their students are eligible for free or low cost school meals. If these kids miss a day of school, they go hungry. When school’s out, they face a long summer of hunger, too.

Public libraries have a long tradition of free summer activities designed to engage and inspire kids—and grown-ups--of all ages. The King County Library System (KCLS) is no exception. From June through August, all 48 KCLS community libraries are hosting age-appropriate summer learning programs: early literacy skills for babies, toddlers and caregivers; STEM-based learning activities for K-6 elementary students; thought-provoking adventures for teens; and just plain fun with reading for adults.

For the third year, KCLS is also teaming up with summer nutrition providers to bring free meals for kids in 15 selected libraries. Here’s why: Statewide, 485,000 kids rely on free or reduced meals during the school year, but only 46,000 are getting nutritious meals in the summer. Many available programs fall short of service goals while kids go hungry because eligible families don’t know about the resources available, or how to find them. Libraries offer the perfect community connecting point for kids and services.

In 2015, 43,000 kids started the KCLS summer learning program; 23,334 came to summer activities, and participants completed more than 90,000 STEM-based learning activities. Bringing the summer meals programs to libraries solves the challenging of finding hungry kids, and gives kids the healthy food they need for summer learning. For details on KCLS summer reading, learning and free meal sites, go to www.kcls.org, click on the calendar and search keywords "summer meals."