Provided by Utah Food Bank
This photo taken in July 2022 shows a woman and child eating lunch at the Utah Food Bank’s free lunch venue.
School may be out for summer, but hunger never goes away.
To help ease the burden for low-income families, school districts and nutrition organizations in Utah County are again providing free meals to children under 18 and low-cost lunches and breakfasts for adults.
According to the Utah Food Bank, one in 10 children across the state faces hunger, with more than 17,000 children in Utah County specifically not knowing where their next meal will come from, the agency said.
Ginette Bott, president and CEO of the Utah Food Bank, said without school meals, families often struggle to feed their children over the summer. “During the school year, parents can count on their children to receive two meals a day, and sometimes three meals a day at schools that have after-school Kids Café programs,” she said.
And as inflation continues to drive up prices at grocery stores, demand is likely to increase, Bott said.
Where to get free meals
The Alpine School District has partnered with the USDA to provide school meals at nine schools across the district this summer from June 3 to 28. Last summer, more than 1,300 lunches and 700 breakfasts were served each day.
Buffy Swensen, ASD’s director of nutrition services, didn’t rule out the possibility of increased demand this summer. “Yeah, we’re definitely expecting more people to come, but we have a lot of students who are in summer school, so it depends on summer school and then, of course, community members will come for meals,” she said.
Cherry Hill, Greenwood, Mountain Trail, Parkside, Westmore and Windsor elementary schools will serve breakfast in their cafeterias from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bonneville Elementary will serve breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to noon. Mountain View High School and Orem Middle School will serve breakfast from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Adult breakfast is $2 and lunch is $5.
The Provo City School District’s summer meal program is also sponsored by the USDA, with meals provided from June 3rd through July 18th.
Franklin, Provo Peaks, Spring Creek, Sunset View and Timpanogos elementary schools, and Independence and Provo high schools will serve breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Schools will provide meals Monday through Thursday, with the exception of June 19th and July 4th.
Children under 18 eat free. Adult meals are $2 for breakfast and $4 for lunch.
No application is required, and children do not have to attend school in the district to stop by for a meal.
To encourage outdoor activity throughout the summer, the Nebo School District has again partnered with the Utah Food Bank to provide meals in community parks throughout the district. The program is ongoing and will run through most of the summer, running through Aug. 9. Meals will be provided Monday through Friday, except for June 19, July 4 and July 24.
Families can stop by for lunch with the kids while enjoying summer activities. Meals will be served at Spanish Fork City Center Library Park from 10:30-11:30 AM, Springville Splash Pad and Library from 12:30-1:30 PM, Payson City Hall from 12:30-1:30 PM, and Centennial Park in Santaquin from 10:30-11:30 AM.
Additionally, the Utah Food Bank will be providing meals at Corey Reid Memorial Park in Eagle Mountain and Hillcrest Park in Orem from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, and at Pleasant Grove’s Downtown Park from 10:30 to 11:45 am. No meals will be provided the week of June 17th.
These establishments do not serve adult meals or breakfast.
Parents can also text “FOOD” to 304-304 to get a list of all summer meal locations, including locations sponsored by other partners.
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