San Bernardino County students can now grab free meals during the summer at over 96 locations.
The free summer meals program is being offered at 96 different locations in a partnership between the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and the San Bernardino Department of Public Health.
An interactive map was created to streamline all location information for parents and students interested in the meals.
Eligible students can receive both breakfast and lunch. Sites where food will be distributed include parks, school campuses, libraries, community centers, churches, Boys & Girls Clubs and more.
No paperwork or ID will be required for free meal pickups.
Schools districts eligible for free meal pickups include:
-Adelanto Elementary
-Bear Valley Unified
-Chino Valley Unified
-Colton Joint Unified
-Fontana Unified
-Helendale
-Hesperia Unified
-Lucerne Valley Unified
-Morongo Unified
-Ontario-Montclair
-Oro Grande
-Redlands Unified
-Rialto Unified
-San Bernardino City Unified
-Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified
“We feed children throughout the school year, both breakfast and lunch and afternoon snacks,” said Fontana Unified School District Superintendent Miki Inbody. “In the summer there’s a gap, so we want to make sure that we’re partnering with our county and state and federal agencies to ensure that our students are receiving healthy, well-balanced, nutritious, yummy meals in the summertime as well.”
On the district’s interactive map, each location will provide specific information including meal pickup times, which days the site is open, and how long the program will be running during the summer.
“It’s super awesome,” said Stephanie Ciccone, an SBSD parent. “My kids really enjoy coming and using the facilities here in Fontana, and the fact that they can sit down and have lunch and we can do something as a family besides just being stuck at home is an amazing thing for them. And then they get super excited to come every day. A lot of them have a lot of vegetables and fruits, and what’s really cool is that there’s a variety.”
According to Feeding America, more than 84,000 children in San Bernardino County are food insecure with around 71% who are income eligible for federal nutrition programs.
“We’re really fortunate that we have registered dieticians who are on our staff and team that ensure that all of our meals are balanced, healthy, delicious,” said Inbody. “If we’re feeding about 7,000 students a day, knowing we have 32,000 students, we know that there are more students that have a need and we currently have students and parents and families who appreciate this program.”
Access to the interactive map for pickup information can be found here. More information can also be found on the California Department of Education website.