Free breakfasts, lunches available at 140 sites
By Mark Hebert
June 14, 2023 – Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will be serving thousands of meals to children this summer with its Summer Meals Program. Any Louisville child age 18 or younger is eligible to receive free breakfasts and lunches, five days a week, at 140 sites across Louisville.
“For kids who rely on school meals, summer can be the hungriest time of year,” said Andrea Wright, Nutrition Services Department coordinator. “Hunger has short- and long-term consequences for a child’s health, education, and well-being. Hunger doesn’t take a vacation, so making sure kids and teens have access to nutritious meals during the summer months is very important to keep them thriving while school is out.”
Last summer, JCPS distributed 324,000 meals to children at schools, churches, parks, community centers and other sites in Jefferson County. This year’s food program runs from June 5 to July 28 at many of the same sites. Families can find a list of the free meal locations as well as an online tool to find sites nearest their home on the JCPS Summer Meals web page.
The Summer Meals Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Participants must eat the meals on site and there are no curbside pickups like the feeding program that JCPS employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want as many families as possible to take advantage of this program,” Wright said. “Not only will it give their kids a nutritious meal, it will also help moms, dads and other family members save a little bit on their grocery bills.”
Hartstern Elementary School is one of the sites. Watch the video here.