Palm Beach County, the nation’s 10th-largest school district will continue to offer free meals throughout the summer.
According to the school district’swebsite, all people 18 years old and younger are eligible for free breakfast and lunch, beginning June 22.
You turn to WLRN for reporting you can trust and stories that move our South Florida community forward. Your support makes it possible. Please donate now. Thank you.
Allison Monbleau, the director of school food service for the Palm Beach County School District, has worked in school services for more than 25 years and says that there will be 153 distribution sites available for meal pick ups.
“One thing this pandemic has done is really shine a light on the fact that in our nation we have hungry kids,” Monbleau said.
In April the USDA extended its universal free lunch program and Monbleau says this helps families regardless of their income or family size.
“Kids get textbooks for free. They get transportation for free. We have them in the school all day long. We should be providing them with the nutrition while they're there and that should be for free,” Monbleau said.
Additionally, Monbleau discussed the importance of providing food to disadvantaged families.
“We really do have a lot of families that are in need and we have to make sure that the kids are being fed well and they're staying healthy," said Monbleau, "that's not only going to help them as we move forward but it's going to help us as a nation."
A list of summer meal distribution times and locations can be found here.
Regular meal service for students at school will resume Aug. 10 for the 2021-2022 school year.
