Statistics released Thursday by the coalition and the Food Research and Action Center, a Washington advocacy group, show that enrollment of Illinois children in the Summer
Food Service Program declined from 106,102 to 84,529 from 2000 to 2001.
The jolt in demand for government - subsidized meals comes as many school
programs are struggling to balance their
food service budgets because of higher costs and a
decline in paying customers, school nutrition advocates said.