This news item expired on Sunday, July 22, 2012 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
For many kids, summertime means food, friends and fun. For the students who count on school breakfast and lunch, however, the summer months can be stressful and family food budgets have to be stretched even further,” said Superintendent Tony Baldwin.
In Buncombe County Schools over half, (55%), of the students receive free or reduced lunch. At several of our schools, over 80%, and as high as 92%, of our students receive free or reduced price meals. This year, thanks to the collaborative effort of Buncombe County Schools, Buncombe County Government through their Parks, Greenways and Recreation Department, YMCA of WNC and others, approximately 2000 children will have the opportunity to enjoy free meals daily at over 20 sites throughout the county.
Sites include many YMCA of Western North Carolina summer camp locations, as well as four Buncombe County pool sites (Erwin, Owen, Hominy Valley Park and North Buncombe Park pools) and additional faith-based locations.
The availability of free meals is an incentive for children to participate in summer enrichment programs. This means that children are not only well-fed, but are in a safe environment, engaged in educational and recreational activities provided by county staff. This helps them to return to school ready to learn.
Having the meal sites at locations where children WANT to come and enjoy the outdoors has the added value of encouraging participation in the program and fighting obesity. There will be no paperwork to fill out and no questions asked. Anyone under 18 is welcome to pick up a lunch.
Buncombe County Schools is one of 12 out of the state’s 115 school districts to serve as a pilot for expanding summer meals. The pilot program is a collaboration between No Kid Hungry NC, the NC Department of Public Instruction, and the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health. The US Department of Agriculture has granted a special waiver to the pilot participants that allow them to waive some of the administrative requirements and receive the highest reimbursement rates for meals served. Buncombe County Schools is receiving a mini-grant from No Kid Hungry to help defray operational expenses.
Beginning Monday, June 11, families wishing to find the most convenient Super Summer Meal site can simply text “FOODNC” to 877877, put in a street address or zip code, and get a list of all locations within a 10 mile radius. There will also be a link to the locater service on the Buncombe County Schools website. A complete list of the sites can be found below.
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