The kids at YMCA Camp Bucks had an additional adult attending a lunch session last week. It wasn’t a supplemental food server, nor an extra pair of eyes monitoring behavior. It was Senator Bob Casey, as reported by John Berry in The Trentonian.

Casey was at the Fairless Hills site to visit with the campers; he passed out boxed lunches, sat with the kids as they ate, and viewed their artwork.

But the true purpose of the appearance was to talk about efforts to address the statewide rise in food insecurity each summer. It’s a deep issue, as school-based programs wane with the exit of students and community resources struggle to fill the void.

Casey cited what he sees as a major victory in the effort to ensure nutrition in the Commonwealth: the U.S. Senate passage of an extension for free-lunch programs.

The measure, he said, passed with 100 percent “aye” votes. Casey commented on that rarity, saying, “Almost nothing gets through that place unanimously.”

Zane Moore, President and CEO of YMCA for Bucks and Hunterdon Counties, was on hand for the senator’s visit and echoed Casey’s sentiment that more help is needed to feed children locally.

“Post-pandemic, we’ve seen an additional 20,000 kids going hungry. What used to be one in seven is now one in four. A lot of kids come to these camps on financial assistance, so anything that can help us feed them, get them a good meal just helps us to help them. So the funding for that is critical,” he said.

More on Sen. Bob Casey’s Fairless Hills camp visit is at The Trentonian.