Summer lunch program keeping kids fed year-round
TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - As schools get out for summer, more than one million students in Florida will have to look elsewhere for food during the day. To meet the need, the Florida Department of Agriculture will soon start its Summer BreakSpot program, which provides free meals and snacks for kids at thousands of locations statewide.
Last year, the program served over 14 million meals at more than four thousand schools, churches and community centers from June through August.
Lakeisha Hood runs the Division of Food Nutrition and Wellness within the Department of Agriculture, and says the department wants to make sure no kids have to go hungry.
"The nutrition components are there. They get the requirements that they need to be healthy and to not experience that summer lapse in their nutrition, which sometimes will inhibit their ability to start learning when they get back to school," Hood said.
There are no income eligibility requirements to participate in the Summer BreakSpot program, which has grown by more than 30 percent in recent years. To find your nearest location, visit www.SummerBreakSpot.org.