Summer Meals – TrayTalk.org

A Coast-to-Coast Look at Summer Meal Programs

Commitment to student health and nutrition doesn’t stop during summer break. Across the country, school nutrition professionals work diligently throughout the summer to ensure that children continue to receive the nourishment they need. Meal service locations are identified in communities to try reach children where the need for nutrition, from school campuses and city parks to rural routes of mobile meal delivery.

Some inspiring examples of how districts are fueling kids this summer include:

Pennsylvania Elementary Students Go Bananas for Cafeteria Manners

Encouraging and rewarding cafeteria manners in young students can foster a lifetime of courteous behavior at dinner tables, in restaurant settings and throughout endless daily life settings.

To that end, Mount Wolf Elementary School in Pennsylvania created their Top Banana award program to recognize young students who demonstrate good manners, are helpful to others and clean up after themselves or even others in the cafeteria. The school houses grades K-3 and one student from each grade level is named a Top Banana each month, receiving the coveted banana-shaped trophy.

Cooks & Books Kicks off Summers in Kansas

Cooking lessons and good books are the perfect ingredients for a successful summer lunch program in one Kansas district. The Cooks & Books program began as a collaboration between Wamego Unified School District 320’s food service director and the city’s library director and has become something that members of the community look forward to each year.

Taking school meals on the road in Louisiana

The Curbside Café will soon be hitting the roads in southeastern Louisiana. The Livingston Parish Public Schools’ child nutrition team hopes to increase meal participation at some of the district’s larger campuses by offering a variety of specials through the mobile food trailer. The team will also be working with the district’s Career and Tech Ed Department to involve students in the Curbside Café.

Cafeteria On Wheels Feeds Even More Students Over Summer Months

After a successful pilot program last year, Alachua County Schools in Gainesville (FL) has added a food truck to their free summer meals program, bringing delicious options to neighborhoods in need over the summer months.

unnamed — A new food truck in Alachua County Schools (FL) is traveling to feed more students over the summer months. Staff is preparing to use the “On Point Food Truck” at the district’s high schools in the fall.

The three additional neighborhood stops will serve about 150 children who would otherwise go without these meals over the summer. All children under 18 years old are eligible for free summer lunch, but even adults have shown an interest and are buying from the enticing food truck as well, said Rowe. Read more…