54 Nebraska school districts sponsor summer food service programs.
Those programs provide breakfast and lunch for children up to age 18 during the summer months. Kayte Partch, summer food program specialist with the Nebraska Department of Education, says the program fills a gap for low-income children.
"We know during the school year that those kids who qualify for free or reduced meals are able to eat those healthy, nutritious meals, probably breakfast and lunch, at school. So when school is out, the Summer Food Service Program helps fill that gap for them and makes sure they’re still getting the nutritious food, along with some enrichment activities."
An estimated 1 in 5 Nebraska children are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from. Partch says the Nebraska Department of Education determines eligibility for summer meal service programs based on free and reduced lunch data.
OPS has about 62 summer meal program sites. A few open May 27th, with the majority opening June 1.