BPSB Summer Food Service Program Delivers Thousands of Meals
July 28, 2021
The Beauregard Parish School Food Services (SFS) department provided meals in June and July to children pre-school through 18 years old, allowing students to eat free all year for 2020-2021, according to Terrie Smith, SFS Coordinator.
“This School Food Service program is a continuation of the meals provided through the CARES Act to feed students breakfasts and lunches during the 2020-2021 school year,” she explained. “We were able to coordinate six sites for the summer to hand out meal boxes that contained a week of lunches, breakfasts, and snacks for each child served.”
The goal of the program was to ensure that children who needed access to healthy meals during the summer because of economic hardships due to the pandemic had access to those meals, said Smith.
The six food distribution sites were staffed by BPSB School Food Service personnel, school custodians, and school and Central Office administrators along with student volunteers from the area schools.
Each Thursday morning throughout the summer, boxes of food and gallons of milk were handed out to anyone with children ages pre-school through 18 years of age. Approximately 2,500 food boxes were handed out each week of the program.
“We distributed over 28,000 boxes of meals for children in our parish over the summer months,” she said.
Smith announced recently that the BPSB School Food Service program will participate in the federal Seamless Summer Option for Breakfasts and Lunches for 2021-2022 that will allow every student in Beauregard Parish schools to eat breakfast and lunch free each school day.
Parents of students who might have qualified for free or reduced meals under the federal program are asked to fill out an application at www.beau.k12.la.us and click on the Lunch menu icon. This application is part of the requirement of P-EBT qualification.
“School Food Service is an important part of the school day because healthy meals help students stay focused and ready to learn,” concluded Smith. “We are glad to have provided meals during the summer, and we look forward to serving the students in Beauregard Parish schools for the new school year so that all of our students have access to healthy meals.”
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