ST LANDRY PARISH, La. — The St. Landry Parish School District has launched its summer meal program.
It was a busy Tuesday morning, with parents lining up early at the Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, one of several drop-off locations throughout the area.
Educators who are also parents believe the program will help students who need daily meals even during school holidays.
“I’m an educator, so a lot of times kids come to school hungry, they need food, so this is definitely going to help a lot of kids in the community,” educator Kyle Sylvester said.
The federally funded program provides breakfast and lunch to children under 18 years old.
All students will receive healthy meals for the week.
Students will receive nutritious meals and snacks that contribute to a balanced diet.
The program is expected to distribute about 400,000 meals by the end of the summer.
Child Nutrition Director Lucretia Herzog said the program will fill nutrition gaps between the end and start of school and prepare students when they return to school.
“We do everything we can to support our community, our students, our kids, number one, because this is a high poverty area. We know kids need to have nutritious food and we do everything we can, but everyone’s situation is different. All we can do as a child nutrition program is support them, adapt to their situation and provide good food,” said Lucretia Hartzock, St. Landry Child Nutrition Programs Supervisor.
For more program details, click here. For pick-up locations, times and dates, click here.
