School cafeterias may be closed for the summer, but help is still on the table for Missouri families. Through LINC’s Caring Communities initiative, free meals are being served to kids younger than 18 at schools, churches, parks, and other familiar neighborhood sites. The LINC Morning Star meal program is part of a statewide network run through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, designed to reach children who would normally rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year.
Sean Akridge, director of Caring Communities in Kansas City, said breakfast and lunch are provided to enrolled students and beyond.
"But, in addition to the students receiving both breakfast and lunch, those who are enrolled, also students, children, and youth from the neighborhood surrounding the school, are able to participate in both the breakfast and lunch programs," he explained.
Every meal provided must meet the USDA nutritional guidelines, supporting healthy summer growth for kids.
Some of the other meal sites are YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and libraries.
Drake Bushnell, site coordinator for Caring Communities, emphasized how parents are also benefiting greatly from the program.
"I see a lot of moms or dads, they come in and they can kind of just sit there and relax for 30 minutes. They did not have to prepare a meal, they did not have to pay for a meal, and they get to sit while their children eat," he said.
More than a dozen states chose not to offer the SUN Bucks grocery benefit this year, a federal program that gives families $120 per child to buy groceries during the summer, making meal programs like LINC’s even more critical.
This story is from the Missouri Public News Service, a news partner with KRCU Public Radio.
