The National League of Cities has announced the second phase of its Cities Combating Hunger Through Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs (CHAMP) initiative, which aims to reduce childhood hunger by expanding participation in federally subsidized afterschool and summer meals programs.

Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation and operated in partnership with the Food Research and Action Center, the initiative provides city officials with funding, technical assistance, and training with respect to tapping federal programs and boosting the enrollment of low-income children in year-round out-of-school meal programs. The new phase of the initiative also will assist participants in developing streamlined systems to ensure that all children have uninterrupted year-round access to nutritious food.

Launched in eleven cities in 2012, phase two of the project will engage up to twenty cities, as many as fifteen of which will be eligible to receive ongoing assistance and re-granted funds. NLC also will offer capacity-building funds to five anti-hunger organizations that are part of FRAC's national network and operate in states where project cities are located.

"Food insecurity can have devastating effects on children and communities, and as city leaders we have a responsibility to do everything we can to end hunger and food insecurity in our cities and towns — especially for our children," said NLC president and Avondale, Arizona, mayor Marie Lopez Rogers. "We cannot let the health of our communities decline because kids are suffering from hunger. The CHAMP initiative will help cities across the country provide sustainable access to nutritious meals for children."