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Summer Food Service delivers meals to low-income students

Delaware Public Media

A program providing free meals in the summer months to low-income students is back this year.

Spearheaded by the State Department of Education, the Summer Food Service Program brings meals to dozens of schools, libraries and city parks each summer for kids who may typically rely on free or reduced cost meals when school is in session.

But for many parents, getting their kids to those meals sites can be problematic. 

"So we’re taking the meals out of the schools and out of the stationary centers and going to where the kids are. Because a lot of one of the barriers to children getting to the meal sites is transportation. So if we can go to the kids we kind of take that barrier out of the way," Department of Education Associate for Nutrition Aimee Beam said. 

"We have food trucks, we have mobile meals through vans. Caesar Rodney (School District) has a new mobile meals bus and Brandywine (School District) will have one soon."

The program also serves community centers and has popup services at the Delaware State Fair or Dover’s Loockerman Way Farmers’ Market.

For a list of food sites you call 211 or text “food” or “comida” to 877-877. You can also access a list of sites here.

The program is fully funded through the National Department of Agriculture.