
Students in the Brookfield Local School District’s Success by Six pre-kindergarten program, shown here, are some of the people who can participate in the school’s summer feeding program.
Brookfield Local School District is again offering free breakfasts and lunches to children this summer through the federal SUN Meals program.
Adults also can grab a meal for a low cost.
The school is open from 8:30 to 10 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch. There are no residency requirements so anyone can participate, said Ereka Johnson, interim director of the food program for Nutrition Inc., which manages the district’s food program.
The program will run through June 28, and July 22-Aug. 9.
The program is ideal for students participating in summer camps and enrichment programs at the school during the summer, said district Treasurer Jordan Weber.
Adults also can grab a meal – $2.15 for breakfast and $3.75 for lunch.
Nutrition Inc. brought the SUN Meals program to the attention of school officials last year, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture encourages schools with the means and the staffing to participate, Weber said.
Breakfast offerings are mostly grab-and-go items such as breakfast sandwiches and cereal bars, but there are times when hot food items such as French toast sticks will be available, Johnson said.
The lunch menu will include sandwiches, wraps and salads, with occasional cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and BBQ rib sandwiches, she said.
Students must select items that constitute a full meal – and that includes a fruit or vegetable – in order for the meals to be free, Johnson said. However, the cafeteria has a “share table” where students can place unwanted items for consumption by others, she said.
The program served 4,186 breakfasts and 3,712 lunches last summer, Food Service Director Amber Capan told the board in September.
“I think that we did really good for it being our first year,” she said. “Those totals were awesome. I was happy to see those.”
The program operated at a small deficit last year, Weber said, noting that staffing is the biggest expense. The district is reimbursed by the number of meals served. On low turnout days, the reimbursement does not cover the staffing cost, he said.
“I do believe that in all of these subsequent years it will start growing and growing,” Weber said. “Eventually, we’ll make money at it.”
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