Columbus Municipal School District Summer Feeding Program
The USDA-funded program provides free breakfast and lunch for anyone under 18 who needs a hot, nutritious meal during the summer.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – In Mississippi, one in four kids is at risk of going hungry.
Mia Johnson, the Columbus Municipal School District’s child nutrition director, said without this program, some kids would go without.
“I hate to say it, but some kids will go hungry without the program,” Johnson said. “Sometimes when we get ready to open up, we’ve got kids sitting out there waiting for breakfast, especially on weekends and stuff. Some kids depend on us, and we don’t want to let them down. So we make sure every school is open to serve the community.”
The Columbus Municipal School District Summer Feeding Program is stepping up to ensure kids have all they need to grow.
Johnson said children need proper nutrition to grow.
“A child needs to grow,” Johnson said. “So we’re here to help them make sure that they get the vitamins and nutrients they need to make sure that they grow healthy.”
Anyone under 18 can show up to Columbus High, Columbus Middle School, Cook, Fairview, Sale, and Stokes-Beard Elementary Schools and get a free breakfast and lunch.
Elementary breakfast is at 7:30 am and lunch is at 11:00 am.
Middle and high school breakfast is at 8:00 am, and lunch is at 11:30 am.
Johnson said the community is grateful for the program.
“Many of the community people are saying, ‘we’re so happy that you are having this here.’ We got daycares coming, bringing their kids,” Johnson said. “We got summer feeding programs coming in. So we’re just welcoming everybody. If you got kids 18 and under they’re welcome to come and eat with us.”
Johnson said the district is happy to provide this service to the community.
“It makes the city school feel real good that they are helping somebody, helping some child,” Johnson said. “There’s hungry getting fed. So it’s real good. It’s a great feeling to know that we’re helping the community.”
Nearly half of all the families in Mississippi’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have children.
The Summer Feeding Program is funded by the USDA’s Summer Nutrition Program for Kids.
