Local school districts and organizations are lending a hand to families in need this summer.
“We know that hunger does not take a summer vacation," said Erin Primer, San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) food and nutrition services director. "So providing free meals while schools are out is really critical to the success of our youth."
Thursday marked the first day of the SLCUSD's summer feeding program.
“This is a program that is federally funded through USDA," added Primer.
The program is open to all children up to 18 and offers a free breakfast and lunch every day for the duration of the summer program.
There’s no application or documentation required.
“We partner a lot with local farms and food businesses ... so it's a great way to not only have food in the summer but really exceptional quality food that kids really seem to enjoy," explained Primer.
Primer says for parents it’s a relief in their pocketbooks.
“By and large we're hearing from parents that at a time when our grocery bills are growing and inflation is increasing, having a free meal at school can really make a difference in the weekly grocery budget for a family," said Primer.
The SLO Food Bank is also gearing up to help families this summer.
“We have a couple of programs that provide meals and food directly to kids and their families," said SLO Food Bank community programs director Andrea Keisler.
One of those programs is the breakfast bag program.
“During the summer, we try to fill that gap by providing kids and their families with these breakfast bags, which have about 21 meals for a child in each one," said Keisler. "We work with a network of community partners who distribute the bags."
She says during the summer, they will distribute about 6,500 breakfast bags throughout the county.
Families can text the word “food” to 304 304 to find where free meal locations are in their area.
More information on distribution sites in SLO County can be found here.
