Wednesday marked the end of the 2014-2015 school year for students in Collier County, but while many celebrate the start of their summer vacation, it leads others to uncertainty.
In an effort to combat hunger, the Collier County School District will launch its Summer Food Service Program on Monday. The program, which runs through July 31, will offer breakfast and lunch free of charge to children under the age of 18 at select locations around the county.
“We want to take care of those children that fall through the cracks,” said Dawn Houser, the director of nutrition services for Collier County Public Schools. “We feed them during the school year through the free and reduced lunch program, but during the summer these children would do without.”
Nearly one in four families in Collier County suffer from food insecurity, according to the Harry Chapin Food Bank. 64 percent of students in Collier County qualify for free or reduced lunches, which is defined as family income being below 180 percent of the poverty line.
The Summer Food Service Program is part of a nationwide effort by the USDA, which plans to serve over 200 million free meals to children this summer.
Houser said the district partners with several community organization, such as Meals of Hope, which provides meals for children to take home with them for their families to prepare at home.