Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) is a nonprofit organization based in the Lake City neighborhood of North Seattle. HIP’s mission is to increase food security for underserved populations in North King County through nutritious meals, and educational programs. The Summer Meals program is one of our direct service meal programs that support families with children, focusing on families of color, with nutritious food during the summer break when school meals are not available. United Way of King County is working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone by ensuring that everyone has access to resources, quality education, enough to eat, and a safe place to call home. United Way concentrates on issues that affect the most vulnerable and on which it can have measurable influence. Under our priority of breaking the cycle of poverty, we are committed to ensuring that families, especially families of color, have access to nutritious food. Program Overview: Access to good food and supportive relationships shouldn't end when school is out. In King County, 100,000 low-income students have access to free meals during the school year, but less than 1 in 5 access free meals served during the summer. The Free Summer Meals Program is a critical resource to ensure that children continue to have access to summer nutrition support, by serving meals in the places where kids live, learn, and play. National studies show that summer meals programs increase food security and mitigate summer learning loss – but less than 15% of low-income youth in our region access Summer Meals programs each year. This is due to preventable barriers – including too few sites, lack of awareness about the program, and a lack of activities and incentives to engage kids and teens.