CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Beginning next week on June 8, students from across Kanawha County will be able to pick up free meals for the summer.
Kanawha County Schools recently announced its sponsorship of the 2020 federally-funded Summer Food Service Program which includes five-day breakfast and lunch boxes available for pick-up for all children, ages 18 years and younger.
Diane Miller, Child Nutrition Director at Kanawha County Schools (KCS) said this is a parent-pickup program only, different from the school bus deliveries made at the end of the school year.
“There will be no contact whatsoever,” Miller said of the process at the sites. “There will be someone there asking how many meal kits are needed. The next person will have the trunk open or ask if they can open up the side door to put the meals in the vehicle.”
There are 20 sites at schools across the county that will have the packages of meal kits. Participation will vary at each site and schedules could be adjusted to accommodate area needs, KCS said.
Five-day meal kits will contain breakfast and lunch items along with milk. They have a shelf life of 10 days and portions of the kit will need refrigeration within 2 hours.
“They will be exactly like they are at the conclusion of our feeding program during the school year. In fact, its the same company and milk will be included,” Miller said of the meals.
Miller expects to deliver around 50,000 meals per week during the summer, down from 135,000 a week during the school year. She still expects the sites to be busy and welcomes all volunteers to help make the process quicker.
Many site pick-ups will move to Tuesdays the week after the primary election.