Area Schools Offering Free Summer Meals

Summer vacation starts late next week for thousands of kids in Sacramento. But even though classes will be over, kids will still be able to get breakfast and lunch at school if they need a free meal.

Gabe Ross is with the Sacramento City Unified School District. Ross says about 70 percent of their students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch.

"We know that over the course of the summer for many of our students who rely on school lunches and school breakfasts it can be a challenging time," says Ross. "And so we're thankful for the federally-funded program that's going to allow us to continue to feed kids over the summer months."

"It's an opportunity for our kids to get good food in the summer months," says Ross. "For so many of our families what our kids eat at school is all that they eat. So we have the opportunity to provide kids with food during the summer months is really critical for the health of so many of our students."

Money for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meals must meet the USDA minimum meal guidelines that include: milk, fruits, vegetables or juice, whole grain products and meat or meat alternative. Other Sacramento area school districts are offering similar summer feeding programs including: Natomas, San Juan and Twin Rivers.

The last day of school in the city school district is next Thursday, June 12th. The free meals start on the following Monday, June 16th.