Schools provide education and socialization opportunities for children, but for some school is also a way to receive two meals a day — breakfast and lunch.
When school is out for the summer, there are still ways schools can provide those meals to ensure students are still being fed. Both Columbus Municipal School District and Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District are again hosting a summer feeding program for anyone 18 and younger.
“We cannot overstate the value this program has on our community,” CMSD Public Information Officer Mary Pollitz said in an email. “In Mississippi, one in five children go to bed hungry. We will do anything we can to make sure all children in Columbus have access to healthy and hot meals.”
All CMSD schools, except for Union Academy, will serve breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to noon every Monday through Friday until July 14.
In SOCSD, two schools will serve meals. Henderson Ward Stewart is serving breakfast from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Monday through Friday through June 30. Partnership Middle School will serve breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to noon every weekday from June 12 to June 23.
SOCSD Director of Child Nutrition Ginny Hill said though participation has decreased since COVID-19, she expects pre-pandemic participation this year.
“Last year we served 5,000 lunches and 2,000 breakfasts in the month of June,” Hill told The Dispatch in an email. “… We expect the participation to be back to our normal of 6,500 to 7,000 lunches in the month of June this summer.”
Pollitz said last year CMSD served roughly 11,200 breakfasts and 14,500 lunches from the end of May to July 22, 2022.
Hill said funding for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Pollitz said CMSD funding comes from the Mississippi Department of Education Child Nutrition Department and the district which is reimbursed by its federal funds.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.