CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Students 18 years old and younger are getting the chance to eat two meals a day for free and enjoy time with friends this summer.
The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) kicked off its Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) on Monday at Overbrook Elementary in Charleston.
The school is one of 450 sites in the state that will host meals, which is helped funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture grants.
“The summer food service program is designed to help provide kids with nutritious meals during the time when school is not in session,” Amanda Harrison, Executive Director of the Office of Child Nutrition for the WVDE said.
“It’s easy to pair up with a program that is offering enrichment activities, summer camps and programs such as this in Kanawha County to make sure that kiddos have access to nutritious meals when school is not in session during the summer.”
Harrison said there is a need to feed children during the summer months in the state, as 40 of the 55 counties already qualify for the Everyone Can Eat for Free program while 13 additional counties have half coverage.
According to the WVDE, approximately 208,000 West Virginia school children depend on free and reduced-priced meals.
The kids at Overbrook received a chicken patty sandwich, waffle fries, vegetable cup, baked beans, and a strawberry dessert along with milk for lunch on Monday.
“If you don’t get food in your body then you will get hungry and that can be bad in some days,” Savannah Grose, a program participant who is going into 5th grade at Montrose Elementary, said.
Before lunch was served, children had the chance to meet and play for a couple of hours, which is part of Kanawha County’s program.
Harrison said Boys and Girls Clubs, county BOEs, churches and faith-based organizations, and non-profits may chip in and design activities for children along with the meals.
Genevieve Hudson, who is going into 5th grade at Montrose, was a participant on Monday and said her ideal lunch is fruit salad, a couple of types of vegetables, pasta and milk.
She also had a favorite part about the SFSP.
“Meeting new people and learning stuff about them,” Hudson said.
A list of sites holding the SFSP can be found at the WVDE website, by calling the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3HUNGRY, or by texting FOOD to 877-877.