Free meals for kids extended through June
Free breakfast and lunch on school days will continue to be available to all students through June 30, 2021, as part of a program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This unprecedented move, announced earlier this month, is part of USDA’s unwavering commitment to ensuring all children across America have access to nutritious food as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Holyoke School District was excited to begin offering meals to children ages 1-18 when the pandemic hit in the spring and through the summer.
USDA previously extended the program through December 2020 based on available funding at the time. Now that free meals will be available until the end of June, Holyoke School District Superintendent Kyle Stumpf said, “I would encourage families to take advantage of it.”
Every single student in Holyoke, regardless of whether they have previously filled out paperwork for free or reduced meals, can have free breakfast and lunch at school on school days. The school does not keep track of which students eat the meals and would love to see more students participating.
“It’s a great opportunity to help families during this time,” said Stumpf.
Breakfast is served in all classrooms at the beginning of the school day at both the elementary school and JR/SR high. The district purchased heating and cooling bags to transport the meals to the classrooms.
At the elementary school, equipment was purchased so that lunch can be served in both the cafeteria and the multipurpose room to keep students separate.
Junior high and high school students pick up their lunches from the concession stand and then utilize the two common areas for their lunch break. Since open campus is still offered for grades 7-12, Stumpf said the students are welcome to grab a meal and then take it outside, downtown or home to eat it.
For the last one and a half months, the school district has been taking free breakfasts to the local preschool and day cares and will continue to do so as long as it is wanted during the program’s duration.
Stumpf said he would consider other ways of getting meals to young children who are not yet in school. Those with input should contact him at 970-854-3634 or stumpfky@hcosd.org.