Kids line up for a free lunch, provided by Kids Cafe and Harvesters, during a Meet and Eat gathering at Waterworks Park in Mission, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Advocates expect to have 162 sponsors providing breakfast, lunch or snacks at 575 sites this summer, an increase from 138 sponsors and 484 sites last summer, according to the Kansas Department of Education.

Shawnee ? Kansas has done a relatively weak job of making sure low-income students have nutritious food when school’s out during the summer, but schools, nonprofits and government agencies are making progress.

Advocates expect to have 162 sponsors providing breakfast, lunch or snacks at 575 sites this summer, an increase from 138 sponsors and 484 sites last summer, said Kelly Chanay, assistant director of Child Nutrition & Wellness for the Kansas Department of Education.

It’s important, advocates say, because losing school-provided meals during the summer is a financial blow to many low-income families, and the loss of nutritious food puts the students at risk for setbacks in health and education, particularly in rural and low-income areas. Nearly half of the state’s children qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

“We just know that there are so many families where food insufficiency is a regular, daily struggle,” said Rhonda Synovec, director of Family Life Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church, which sponsors lunches, arts and crafts and a bookmobile three days a week at Waterworks Park in Shawnee. “A parent can be working two or three jobs but it’s not enough to meet the needs of the families … Our hearts just want to make sure those kiddos have the opportunity to be taken care of.”

The Food Research & Action Center, a national anti-hunger group, in 2014 ranked Kansas 49th among states based on the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches who were receiving summer meals. And 35 of Kansas’ 105 counties didn’t have a single site providing meals last year. Ten of those counties are expected to offer food this summer.

Meal sponsors are reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service program, with some also supplemented by grants and private donations. All children 18 and younger are eligible, regardless of income, but the focus is on low-income students.

Sponsors are encouraged to provide social and physical activities along with the meals.

“It’s important because one of the problems children face is the learning gap over the summer,” said Audrey Rowe, administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. “Where there is programming, you have more children attending on a daily basis.”

The USDA is pushing for increased participation nationwide, with a goal of serving more than 200 million free meals this summer, up from 191 million last summer, she said.

It’s all good news to Emily Davis, who last week took her 2-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son to eat, play and get a free book at the Shawnee park.

“It gives us time to get out of the house and gives me a break from having to cook all the meals every day,” Davis said. “And it certainly helps the finances.”

With most of the meals served at school sites, some are concerned how the state’s current school funding crisis would impact the program if school buildings are closed July 1. Chanay said the federally-funded programs will continue, although some sponsors would have to find alternative sites.