Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is teaming up with the US Department of Agriculture to provide students in need with school breakfasts and lunches over summer break.
The Seamless Summer Option meal program is the USDA’s initiative to close the gap in food security that opens up when students are out of school for the summer. In WS/FCS, a mobile unit is travelling to 19 different community sites throughout the district each weekday to provide hot and ready meals to any visitor aged 18 or younger. Meals are also available at summer camp sites hosted by 22 different campuses and four of the district’s community partners. Over 10,000 meals have been served through less than the first three weeks of the program this year, making it a highly effective extension of the district’s mission to reduce hunger’s role as an obstacle in students’ lives.
“We all know that the body works better on healthy food. In summer, when schools are out, this program can continue providing healthy meals,” said Executive Director of Child Nutrition Ekta Patel. “We need to make sure that healthy food is being put in front of our children on a day-to-day basis.”
Particularly in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and food insecurity, school breakfasts and lunches are sometimes the only meals that students can depend on eating in a normal day. Food Services Manager Daniel Levstek has seen firsthand the devastating effects hunger has on students, even describing situations during the school year when students would eat only a fraction of their lunch and wrap up the rest to take home so they could make sure their younger siblings had something to eat that day. Through the Seamless Summer Option, nutrition professionals can take factors like cost and transportation out of the equation for students by visiting them in their own neighborhoods, making a potentially lifesaving difference by guaranteeing their access to meals doesn’t lapse in the summer months. Not only does it keep them fed, but it offers vital hope that their community has their best interests at heart.
“They see a friendly face that they recognize from the school year, and it does great things for them,” Levstek said. “This job is more than just serving food. It makes these kids feel like they’re a part of something.”
A visit from the mobile unit is also an opportunity for some good old-fashioned summer fun. While meals are available to grab and go, the team also always sets up an outdoor dining area where students can eat with their friends, play with some sports balls, and enjoy the summer weather. The scene is reminiscent of a school lunch on a field day, with all the entertainment and camaraderie one would expect.
“We make sure the kid will be comfortable if they choose to stay and eat,” said Carie Boston, the Café Manager at Lewisville Elementary School and a member of the mobile unit. “They can have a little picnic with us.”
The Seamless Summer Option is an indispensable asset to the district and its students in the fight against food insecurity. It’s also a rewarding experience for the staff who lend their time to the effort over the summer. It takes a lot of hard work to keep cafeteria output going under less conventional circumstances, but it’s always worth it to see a student’s face light up.
“It really touches your heart when you’re out here with these kids,” said Café Manager Thomasina Hairston. “I love to see them smile.”