Lincoln school providing free meals this summer
Posted on Monday, June 9, 2008
Lincoln Public Schools is opening up its elementary cafeteria doors this summer and providing free breakfast and lunch to students and adults in the west Washington County community.
This new program for Lincoln began Friday and will continue through the summer, Lincoln Superintendent Frank Holman said.
The meal program is funded by a federal grant that the district receives through the Arkansas Department of Human Service.
The free meal program will mainly serve students attending summer school, but it will also be available from Monday to Friday to anyone wanting a nutritious breakfast or lunch, he said. There are no income requirements or forms to fill out.
Fayetteville and Springdale have similar free lunch programs available for students in the summer but not adults.
Holman said the district expects to serve between 100 and 125 students daily. He anticipates kids attending vacation bible school, sports camps and other local events will take advantage of the opportunity.
"It's a good program," Holman said.
Holman said he learned about this program when he worked as superintendent of the Arkadelphia and Cabot school districts. Those schools developed educational and recreational programs for students during the summer. Holman wants to do this at Lincoln, too.
He said the district is seeking grant funds to provide more activities for students during the summer such as access to the libraries, computer labs and other facilities. He'd also like to see more educational and interesting field trip opportunities during the summer.
Holman said it is important to provide children with opportunities to do something besides sitting at home and watching television all summer. Kids need to read and continue learning during the summer, he said.
"Sometimes they regress during the summer," Holman said.
Tina Walton, grants coordinator for the child care division of the Department of Human Services, said the agency has seen a tremendous response from the program.
The purpose of the program is to help students get a nutritious meal that they might not normally get during the summer, she said. It is also important to offer kids "something different besides sitting at home watching TV and playing video games," she said.
Many of the schools across the state offer other activities that help draw kids in, she said.
"You want to promote healthy eating and activity," Walton said.
A school district can qualify for funding for the free summer meals if more than 50 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced lunches, Walton said. Many school districts also access these federal grants fund by applying through the state Department of Education, she said.
Walton said both Fayetteville and Springdale have successful free summer meal programs funded through DHS.
The Fayetteville school district provides free lunches for students at Owl Creek School at 375 N. Rupple Road. The school program provides many of its meals for students at the nearby Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club.
Fayetteville's program offered breakfast in previous years, but decided not to this year because the club is now providing more snacks to its summer program participants, Lisa Jenkins, the district's food service director, said in a recent interview.
Lunch is served to any person age 18 or younger who shows up between 10: 30 a.m. and 12: 30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Springdale school district is in its third year of providing free lunch to students at both Elmdale and Jones Elementary Schools, Linda Watson, the district's food service secretary, said.
The lunches are offered between 11: 30 a.m. and 12: 30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The program began Tuesday and will run through August 1. Each location will serve about 250 kids each day, she said.
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