Summer Food Service Program begins feeding kids on Monday

The Summer Food Service Program begins serving meals to students Monday in east St. Mary Parish at four locations.

St. Mary Community Action Agency is administering the federally funded program. Children and teens in low-income areas are provided free meals when school is out.

“The program is so critical because so many of our children are latchkey kids whose mothers and fathers are working by necessity,” said Almetra Franklin, CEO of St. Mary Community Action Agency.

“The purpose of this program is to make sure children have a decent, nutritious meal during the time that they’re out of school.”

Approximately 670 students were served throughout the parish in summer 2015, said Denise Teno , St. Mary Community Action nutrition assistant.

The number of children receiving meals in east St. Mary Parish was 380.

The number of students served parishwide in summer 2014 was around 546. Of those students, 375 were on the east side of the parish.

An increase of 124 students served in the parish over a one-year period shows a need in the community. Sites needed additional meals in 2014 because more children showed up than expected.

Last year, there were seven sites. This year, eight sites will be open.

“It is a need,” Teno said. “We had the largest increase in Baldwin and Four Corners from 2014 to 2015.”

According to the Food Research & Action Center, the summer nutrition programs served nearly 3.2 million children nationally in 2014.

It was an increase of 215,000 (7.3 percent) from 2013, which marked the third consecutive year of growth.

In July 2014, only 16.2 children received summer nutrition for every 100 low-income students who received lunch in the 2013-14 school year.

Only one in six low-income children relying on school lunch during the school year participates in the summer nutrition programs.

The USDA plans to serve more than 200 million free meals to children, 18 years or under, summer of 2016.

The 2016 Summer Food Program Service sites in east St. Mary Parish are:

—Bayou Vista Community Center, lunch only.

—Patterson Junior High School, breakfast and lunch.

—M.D. Shannon Elementary School, lunch only.

—Siracusa Recreational Center, breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. and end at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m.

All children will be given free meals. No one will be turned away. The sites will be closed July 4 due to the Independence Day holiday.

Nutritional value is the basis of the program, Franklin said. The program ensures that during the summertime kids get a balanced meal.

Children will also be able to participate in activities such as arts & crafts, games, and theatrical performances at some site locations.

Many of the sites have summer activities to make sure the children are fully engaged and not on the street running loose, Franklin said.

“We’ve been doing this for 20 plus years,” Franklin said. “And it’s our pleasure to provide this service to the community, particularly the parents, to assist them as they struggle during these challenging times.

The program ends July 15.

For more information, contact the St. Mary Community Action Agency at 337-828-5703.