The year is half over. The beaches are crowded. The BBQs are firing.

And we at the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition are taking a look back at the past six months to share the tremendous progress we've made so far toward feeding hungry children, working parents, seniors and others in the Garden State.

Saving SNAP

While still in play, we scored a definite win with the Senate version of the Farm Bill that not only protects food stamps, but also strengthens the program. With your help, we mobilized hundreds to send messages to our Congressional reps throuigh our #SNAPFeedsNJ Campaign. And guess what? They listened. All but one House Republican voted against SNAP cuts, while our state Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez are staunch advocates for feeding folks.

Serving up school breakfast

Under a new law, New Jersey's high-poverty schools will have to serve breakfast during the school day. Known as breakfast after the bell, this is the most effective way to deliver this all-important morning meal. We will be working with districts across New Jersey to implement this new requirement, which takes effect in the 2019-20 school year. Expect to see huge jumps in the number of kids receiving breakfast at school - giving them the nutrition they need to concentrate and learn.

Summer meals keep spreading

New Jersey jumped to 6th place from 14th for serving more summer meals to children. And we expect even greater participation, as another new law requires school districts in  high-poverty communities to act as a summer meals sponsor or site, when no other organization is providing this critical summertime nutrition. Another win for NJ kids and families! Help spread the word about summer meals with these easy-to-use outreach materials.

Nourishing young minds

A new fund has been established in the budget that Governor Murphy just signed that provides dollars to schools, community organizations and others for costs related to school breakfast and summer meals. A huge thanks to our legislative leaders, especially Sen. Steve Sweeney, for making this happen.

We will have more exciting news to share at the end of the summer. But we wanted to say thanks to all who have helped to support these efforts and move us closer to the day when no NJ resident faces hunger. Happy 4th!