Harrison County School District hosting free summer meals program
School is out for the summer, but the Harrison County School District is still serving up healthy and tasty meals.
It is important to ensure kids are still getting the proper meals while out for the summer. So, to help fill the bellies of children, Harrison County School District is providing free meals Monday through Friday for children. Child Nutrition Programs Director Bradley Barlow said, “Three out of four of our students receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year. So, we understand that nutrition is important, but also access to free healthy meals.”
Each day, two meals will be prepared with all the specific food groups in mind including milk, fruit, and vegetables for lunch and a hot, well-balanced breakfast. “They do not have to be enrolled in the Harrison County School District, they simply have to be ages 18 or younger.”
The Harrison County School District is one of the largest school districts to sponsor the summer food service program in the southeast United States. They are looking to serve up 300,000 meals in nine different locations. “Since I’ve been with Harrison County School District, we have fed upwards of half a million meals on certain summer months.”
Austin King, a father of two, took his daughters to Three Rivers Elementary School to receive their free lunch and says this program is helpful for many parents. “We will definitely be here, if not every day, we will be here most days because that’s a big weight off our shoulders that we don’t have to plan for lunches and buy extra groceries for lunches.”
The free summer meal program will run all the way until July 29th.
