Thursday, August 28, 2008

By MICHELLE HATFIELD
mhatfield@modbee.com

last updated: July 10, 2008 12:15:52 PM

SALIDA — Even though his mom's cooking is better, Joaquin Vega finds school food pretty tasty. His favorite is the sub sandwich.

Vega, 11, and his two younger sisters eat breakfast and lunch at their Salida schools not just during the school year, but also in the summer.

To help bridge the gap between school years, when meals at public schools are available to low-income students, more than 3,200 schools, parks and community centers across California are offering free breakfasts and lunches to anyone under the age of 19 from June through August.

Some of those eating come with their mothers and baby strollers; some stop by before and after summer school or summer camp. More than 60 locations in Stanislaus County, upward of 30 in Merced County and more than 80 in San Joaquin County offer the free summer meals.

"My job is to feed kids. We help the Ceres community by feeding hungry children. Kids have to eat — we try to feed them the best, most nutritious meals we can," said Cheryl Patton, director of child nutrition at the Ceres Unified School District. The district offers about 3,100 summer meals each day at 16 sites, she said.

The summer food programs provide free nutritious meals while allowing children to eat in a comfortable environment with friends. Some girls gather each morning to have breakfast and some skateboarders stop by Salida Elementary School for lunch, said Billy Reid, director of child nutrition services at the Salida Union School District. In its first year, Salida Union is offering summer food at three locations, with plans to expand.

Modesto City Schools runs summer food programs at 25 schools, parks and community centers.

"We have a high free- and reduced-lunch population. These students don't have access; this may be their only meal of the day," said Criss Atwell, director of nutrition services at Modesto schools. "It's important to provide this service to the community, especially in this economy."

Helps lower grocery bills

Julie Hollaway brings her youngest children to meet their older brother for lunch after he gets out of summer school at Salida Elementary. The mother of three said the free meals supplement her grocery bill, which is getting costly.

"I think it's good for students. They can eat with their friends. It's interactive," Hollaway said.

Her daughter, Caleigh, 3, loves the chocolate graham crackers. Caleigh's brother, 5-year-old C.J., prefers the Fritos because, "they're so tasty," he said at lunch Tuesday.

Siegfried Guentensperger also brings his children to the free breakfasts and lunches to help save money. He and his wife work part time and there are eight children in the family, so groceries can be an expensive portion of their small budget, he said.

Guentensperger brought six of his children to lunch at Salida Elementary on Tuesday. He brings his own food. His children are ages 7 to 15. He and his wife moved to California from Switzerland after her sister died, leaving four children whom the Guentenspergers adopted.

On the menu ...

On Tuesday's menu at Salida Elementary were turkey or bologna sandwiches (vegetarian choices also were available), carrots, grapes, chips, 1 percent or nonfat white or chocolate milk and chocolate graham crackers. For the district to qualify for reimbursement, diners must choose at least three food items, but can have all five, Reid said.

The summer food service is coordinated by the California Department of Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. School districts are reimbursed for the cost of food and labor. Reid said the summer meals program not only provides food for children, it also gives food service employees summer work.

Reid couldn't estimate Salida Union's annual food services budget. The state dispersed $22.5 million in federal funding for summer food programs for the 2007-08 school year, according to its Web site.

A similar program operates at select public schools and parks during winter and spring school breaks.

Officials say the programs are about more than just giving out free food to children from low- income families. Eating nutritious meals is important to child growth and development.

"When children do not receive proper nutrition, they are more likely to become ill and are not able to concentrate or perform well when they are in school," according to a statement from the state education department.

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.

• Comments
• Add Comment
• Disclaimer