Free summer meals program kicks off

School is out for the summer, but they’re still serving up tasty and nutritious meals in the Harrison County School District.

Today kicked off the first day of the Harrison County School District’s free summer meals program.

Monday marked the first day of summer camp at Bel-Aire Elementary School. Zamyah Jackson and her teammates had worked up quite the appetite by lunch time. “We’ve been playing dodgeball most of the day. We did the relay run. Yea, we got some trophies.”

Win, lose, or draw, everyone ate like champions on the first day of the Harrison County School District’s free summer meals program. Harrison County School District Food Services Director Brad Barlow said, “We’re starting to feed over 100,000 meals this summer throughout the county. Right now we have eight approved sites, possibly growing from that as the community comes forward. Every day, community groups are coming forward and asking for free meals.”

Through the program, any child 18 or under can get a free meal at breakfast or lunch until the program ends.  “Any child can come through our doors and get a hot breakfast or lunch. They do not need to be enrolled in our school district. There’s no enrollment process. They just need to show up. We also have adult meals available. Breakfast is $2.25 for adults and lunch is $3.35,” said Barlow.

This year’s program runs Monday through Friday until the end of July at eight Harrison County schools. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., serving up plenty of time to enjoy good nutritious food, friends, and fellowship like champs. “The summer feeding program is funded by USDA. It bridges the gap between when students leave for summer and when they come back in August,” said Barlow.