Builds on 500 locations already offered where at least half of children receive free, reduced lunches
IOWA — Over 60 new summer meal sites for children will be offered in Iowa thanks to $900,000 in grants, according to the state’s department of education.
The competitive grants went to 38 school districts and other organizations that provide healthy food to children and teens during summer months when they are away from the cafeterias they rely on through the rest of the year.
The 61 new meal sites funded by the Summer Meal Expansion Grant were not previously served by the USDA-funded, state-run meal program for youth in Iowa.
The meals will be provided to children at no cost in “enriching environments,” Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a news release.
The summer nutrition sites are for youth 18 and under in areas designated as low income.
The 61 new sites add to the more than 500 that were already being operated in Iowa at locations such as schools, churches, community centers, parks, libraries and camps.
Grants were awarded based on whether the summer meal plans were sustainable enough to feed children for at least four weeks in areas where at least half of the youth were eligible for free or reduced meals during the school year.
Some of the meals sites include enrichment activities as well.
