43
Summer food service program, day camp, keep children occupied while school is out
By Justin Wier
AUSTINTOWN
Cafeteria staff at Austintown Elementary School serves about 350 meals to local children each day through a federal program intended to keep kids healthy during the summer.
It’s the sixth year the school district has participated in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program.
Austintown’s program began June 5 and runs through Aug. 15. Breakfast is served from 7:45 to 9 a.m., and lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The number of children attending the program is increasing, said Alexis Weber, Austintown’s food-service director. Her staff serves about 150 breakfasts and 200 lunches each day. “We’re already seeing more participation than last year,” Weber said.
The USDA funds the program, which is managed by the Ohio Department of Education and the school district.
Austintown is an “open site,” which means any child from age 1 to 18 is eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch. Weber said the district does not ask participants for information about income levels or where they live.
Open sites operate in communities where at least half the children qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to the USDA website. Last year, 53.7 percent of Austintown students qualified for free or reduced lunch, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
The USDA also has nutrition requirements so the children get a healthy and balanced meal. “The point is to nourish the children of the community,” Weber said.
Parents can drop off their children and are welcome to purchase their own meals, but Weber said much of the participation comes from students participating in athletic and extracurricular activities on the Austintown campus.
One of the programs, Falcon Camp, is not affiliated with the school but funded by local churches. The camp provides activities for children from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in the gymnasium at Austintown Elementary School.
Olivia Governor-McDonald, who oversees the camp, said it enriches students by teaching Christian values along with science, technology, engineering and mathematics and literacy programs. The kids participate in athletic activities as well.
“It’s like a six-week-long vacation Bible school,” Governor-McDonald said. “The goal is to provide them with enrichment activities to keep their minds going in the summer.”
The program runs through July 14, and Governor-McDonald said students who just completed kindergarten through fifth grade are welcome to join at anytime.
The camp currently hosts about 30 students, and she said many of the kids would be attending the breakfast and lunch programs regardless.
“We would be here anyway,” Governor-McDonald said. “But the [Summer Food Service] program definitely is a big part of it.”