California Watch: Schools offer free summer meals, but few kids eat them

Joanna Lin

At lunchtime at Cambridge Elementary School, you’d never know that the last day of school was more than a month ago. For one month this summer, Monday through Friday, more than 300 kids packed the Concord school’s cafeteria for free lunches.

Most of the kids gobbling up cheese pizza, chicken nuggets and carrots are participating in summer learning programs at the campus. But, as indicated by a big red banner hanging on the school’s fence, anyone 18 years old and younger was invited to the free meals.

“If I see somebody out there, I’ll go drag them in – ‘Go eat! Go in!’ ” said Colleen Ivie, the school’s cafeteria manager.

Still, Ivie said, the school would not have fed nearly as many kids without summer school.

via Schools offer free summer meals, but few kids eat them.

Comments are closed.