School offers students no-cost meals during summer | Local News
School is out, but lunch and breakfast is still being served.
The Douglas County School System announced the details for its Summer Meal Program at designed locations throughout the county.
The program began in 2007 and provides nutritious meals to children who may not otherwise have access to such meals, according to the DCSS news release.
Breakfast includes an entrée, 100% fruit juice and low-fat milk, and lunch includes a choice of an entrée, vegetable, fresh fruit and low-fat milk.
New regulations require that a student must select a fruit or vegetable daily when selecting options for lunch, according to the news release.
The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 requires that the student be served a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. The new meal pattern standards include dark green leafy, red/orange, legume, and starchy vegetables offered throughout the week.
The DCSS program is open to any child under the age of 18, regardless of income status or enrollment in a summer school program, may eat breakfast and lunch at no cost.
DCSS said that adults can also purchase meals. The adult price for breakfast ($1.65) and lunch ($4.00). Exact change is required as the sites do not carry a change fund, according to the DCSS release.
The Seamless Summer Meal Program is an extension of the National School Lunch Program. The USDA began the summer meals program in an effort to combat childhood hunger. The summer meals program provides an opportunity for children to receive a healthy meal when school is not in session. The summer meals program is a great opportunity for families of all income brackets. Getting a lunch and breakfast at no cost for their children will save time and money for all parents.
The menu is posted on the Douglas County School System website. All of the meals must be consumed on site.
Breakfast at participating elementary schools are served from 8-8:30 a.m. and breakfast is from 11:30 a.m. until 12 p.m.
The middle school schedule is 8:30-9 a.m. for breakfast and lunch is 12-12:30 p.m.
The high school meals are 8-8:30 a.m. for breakfast and 12-12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Meals are served Monday-Thursday for all grade schools.
Participating elementary schools are Beulah, Bill Arp, Bright Star, Chapel Hill, Eastside, Factory Shoals, Lithia Springs, Mason Creek, and Sweetwater.
Except for Bright Star, all the programs will begin this coming Monday and run through June 30. Bright Star started on June 1 and will run through July 14. No meals at Bright Star will be served the week of July 4.
Participating middle schools are Chapel Hill, Factory Shoals, Mason Creek and Turner. All of the programs run June 13-30 with the exception of Turner, which started June 1 and runs through July 14.
Turner will not serve meals the week of July 4.
Lithia Springs and New Manchester will be the only two high schools participating in the program. The program at the two school started at the beginning of June and run through July 14 with no meals served the week of July 4.
