Hundreds of low-income students in the San Diego Unified School District are heading to neighborhood recreation centers this summer for free lunches and snacks. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
San Diego schools provide free breakfast and lunch to low-income students whose families are struggling to makes ends meet. To ensure these kids and their families make it through the summertime, the district and the city's parks and recreation department is offering free sack lunches and snacks until the school year begins. The district's food services director Gary Petill says once summer school lets out, an influx of students is expected to receive meals at each site.
You know our numbers might go from 40 to 120 children eating in one day. Because now they're not in summer school where they were receiving free lunch and free breakfast. And now parents can make that next step to the recreation centers until school begins a again in September.
More than 125,000 students are expected to take advantage of the free summer lunch program. Students can go to one of the 19 recreation centers in the city to pick up a free bag lunch. Low-income families don't need to enroll or provide income information. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
