Free Summer Meals Available To Santa Cruz County Children

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Now that the 2018-19 school year is closing out, school districts around the state are reminding families that the California Department of Education has an app that helps users find locations where children can receive free nutritious meals during summer vacation. Called CA Meals for Kids!, the app lets users find sites by physical location, custom map, county, city, zip code and partial site name.

Of course you don't need the app for the free lunches. The meals will be provided to all children, without eligibility documentation, who are 18 years of age and younger. Some programs may require registration for participants.

“This is a great resource for families and our community,” says Amy Hedrick-Far, Food Services Director for Santa Cruz City Schools. “We provide over 700 free meals daily to 15 summer meal sites.”

To make the program welcoming and accessible, meals are served at locations where kids congregate during the summer, such as playgrounds, summer schools, and community centers. Summer meals are offered at 25 sites throughout Santa Cruz County. In the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz, there are currently 13 sites. Click here for the list, which was last updated May 28.

Still want the Get the CA Meals for Kids! app? Download it here: https://bit.ly/2sYv4pm

The Summer Food Service Program is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) federally funded program that reimburses sponsors for administrative and operational costs to provide meals for children 18 years of age and younger during periods when they are out of school for 15 or more consecutive school days.