Oxford Schools Open Summer Feeding Program

PRESS RELEASE

Oxford, Mississippi—The Oxford School District will serve nutritious summer meals to area kids and teens at no cost from Wednesday, June 1 through Friday, July 22 at the Oxford Intermediate School campus, 501 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. The district’s Summer Meal Program provides breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to any child one to 18 years of age at no charge Monday through Friday.

“Summer meals give us an opportunity to improve a child’s physical and social development while providing nutritious meals,” says Oxford School District Child Nutrition Director Tim Howington. “In fact, our summer meals are open to all children, not just Oxford School District students.”

Adults can eat breakfast and lunch with their child, too, but there is a cost to dine in with their children: breakfast is $1.75, and lunch is $3.75. School officials do ask that parents accompany youth under the age of 12 during meal times. Also, parents and organizations are encouraged to help with transportation of children to and from the Summer Meal Program site because the school district does not provide transportation for the program.

“Since the Summer Meal Program site is centrally located in Oxford, organizations such as local summer camps, the Boys and Girls Club, and daycare facilities can walk their children to Oxford Intermediate School to take advantage of the program,” said Howington.

For many kids, summertime means food, friends and fun; however, that’s not the case for all area children. For children who count on school breakfast and lunch, the summer months can be stressful because family food budgets have to be stretched even further. That’s why all children ages one to 18 are encouraged to participate: no application or proof of income is needed.

The Summer Meal Program is coordinated by the Oxford School District Child Nutrition Program. The free summer meals are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (USDA) All meals served are healthy and follow the same USDA nutrition guidelines the school district follows during the regular school year.