HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — School is out for summer, but sometimes, that's the place students get most of their meals during the day, so local school districts are doing what they can to keep kids fed all summer long.
Before they headed off on their next fun adventure at YMCA Camp Cristina, the kids fueled up.
“I liked it because of the juice and the chocolate milk,” said 9-year-old Dominik.
“If you don’t, you’re going to get tired,” said 10-year-old Siobhan.
One bite into her sandwich and Siobhan’s review was this.
“It tastes really good,” she said.
That food was thanks to Hillsborough County Schools’ summer food service program.
ABC Action News caught up as staff prepped meals Monday morning.
“Today, we are prepping for 4,000 breakfasts and lunches, and that’s just to get things going. Next week, we expect more camps will open, so we’ll probably go up to 5,000 a day, and we will just take it from there,” said Shani Hall, the General Manager of Student Nutrition Services with Hillsborough County Schools.
The program offers students breakfast and lunch for free at schools that provide summer school programs. All kids 18 and younger can come to an open school Monday through Thursday, look for the mealtimes in the front office window.
Parents should know their child doesn’t have to be enrolled in a summer learning program to take advantage of the free meals.
School leaders point to a need in Hillsborough County, with families impacted by inflation and food insecurity.
“There are so many families that rely on our school meals throughout the school year, and this is a way that we can provide meals to those families when school is out,” said Hall.
The district says 144 summer feeding sites, including YMCA programs and city and county parks and recreation sites, will be available this summer.
“During the school year, we say a hungry child can’t learn, but in the summer, a hungry child can’t have fun,” said Hall.
For more information on summer meals near you, click here or text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304.
