Floridians text, call 2-1-1 to find free meal location for children
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Floridians can now text FLKIDSMEALS to 211-211 to find their closest participating Summer BreakSpot location, which provides free meals to children under 18 when school is out. They can also call 2-1-1 to speak with a live operator 24 hours a day or visit SummerBreakSpot.FreshFromFlorida.com and enter their address to find participating free meal locations near them.
“For so many of Florida’s children, school meals are the only meals they can count on,” said Commissioner Nikki Fried. “That’s why we’re now providing even more ways to secure healthy, nutritious meals for kids. Floridians can now find Summer BreakSpot free meal locations by text, by phone and online, with additional locations being added every day. We encourage families to take advantage of these free resources, and to check with their school districts on other meal availability.”
As of March 20, there are approximately 1,000 approved Summer BreakSpot sites statewide. The number of locations will continue to increase as the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services approves additional BreakSpot locations.
If there aren’t Summer BreakSpot locations listed in a county during a given week, users should contact their local school district to determine if school meals will be available. Users are also urged to contact locations listed on the Summer BreakSpot map, or provided by 2-1-1 text or phone operator, to confirm opening dates and times.
The following counties are in operation the week of March 16: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Broward, Calhoun, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Duval, Hamilton, Indian River, Jackson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Polk, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union.
Last weekend, Commissioner Fried also announced that federal waivers had been approved giving FDACS authority to offer local school districts flexibility in providing meals to students during this closure.
In the 2018-19 school year, Florida’s schools served 286,734,316 school lunches, of which 245,782,422 were free or reduced lunches. These schools served 2,908,335 Florida students, of which 2,089,852 were students receiving free or reduced lunches. FDACS is the state agency that funds Florida’s school lunch program, through $1.3 billion in federal funding.
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