In Charlotte, many of our kids get at least two meals a day at school during the school year but what happens when school gets out? The Summer Food Service Program, funded by the US Department of Agriculture, ensures that all kids under the age of 18 have access to healthy meals twice a day throughout the summer months. This summer, 52 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will be summer food service program sites.
In CMS, over half of our students are eligible for free and reduced price meals during the school year – this means that a lot of kids have the potential to go hungry during the summer months. The Summer Food Service Program makes sure that no child goes hungry over summer break. Hunger is one of the most serious barriers to academic achievement – even when school is out. Summer feeding programs help bridge the gap over those 10 long weeks of summer vacation. There is no enrollment or payment necessary. All children aged 0 to 18 years of age are eligible to eat a healthy, delicious meal at any of the summer food service sites throughout the city.
At Barringer Academic Center, one of the summer food service sites, Cafeteria Manager Patricia Freeman is feeding well over 500 kids per day! If you take a peek into her kitchen, you will see a busy staff chopping veggies, making sandwiches, and counting cartons of milk. Barringer, a Title I magnet school located off of West Blvd, hosts a summer school program, feeding all of the summer scholars a healthy breakfast and lunch. Ms. Freeman and her staff are also providing breakfasts and lunches to students participating in Stratford-Richardson YMCA summer camps as well as students at the Arbor Glen Community Center.
If you live in Charlotte and want to know if there is a summer feeding site in your community, check this list or call 1-866-3-HUNGRY to find summer food service sites nationwide.
In CMS, over half of our students are eligible for free and reduced price meals during the school year – this means that a lot of kids have the potential to go hungry during the summer months. The Summer Food Service Program makes sure that no child goes hungry over summer break. Hunger is one of the most serious barriers to academic achievement – even when school is out. Summer feeding programs help bridge the gap over those 10 long weeks of summer vacation. There is no enrollment or payment necessary. All children aged 0 to 18 years of age are eligible to eat a healthy, delicious meal at any of the summer food service sites throughout the city.
At Barringer Academic Center, one of the summer food service sites, Cafeteria Manager Patricia Freeman is feeding well over 500 kids per day! If you take a peek into her kitchen, you will see a busy staff chopping veggies, making sandwiches, and counting cartons of milk. Barringer, a Title I magnet school located off of West Blvd, hosts a summer school program, feeding all of the summer scholars a healthy breakfast and lunch. Ms. Freeman and her staff are also providing breakfasts and lunches to students participating in Stratford-Richardson YMCA summer camps as well as students at the Arbor Glen Community Center.
If you live in Charlotte and want to know if there is a summer feeding site in your community, check this list or call 1-866-3-HUNGRY to find summer food service sites nationwide.
