In an effort to head off hunger, the Iowa Department of Education is seeking sponsors for a federally funded program that provides nutritious meals or snacks to children in low-income areas of the state during the summer months. Nearly 200,000 Iowa students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals during the school year don’t have school-sponsored meal programs to turn to when classes let out for summer break. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program uses sponsors such as schools, local government agencies and nonprofit organizations to manage summer meal services in low-income areas. Last summer the program served more than 25,000 meals a day in Iowa, a 5.4 percent increase from 2016. For more information, visit the department’s Summer Food Service Program webpage.