School is out, but at noon the doors of Harris Elementary School’s lunchroom swing open and neighborhood kids fill the tables.
The Tooele County School District has teamed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to feed hungry children via the Summer Foodservice Program. The program is held at Harris Elementary and Northlake Elementary schools in Tooele, and Anna Smith Elementary School in Wendover.
“The summer lunch program is an extension of the school lunch program,” said Elva Roberts, food services coordinator for the district. “The idea is to provide lunch for those students that rely on the school lunch program during the school year for a meal.”
While the USDA program is aimed at low-income neighborhoods, there is no financial eligibility for the summer lunch program, according to Roberts.
Children and families do not need to attend the school where the lunch is served to be eligible to receive a free lunch, and USDA regulations prohibit any inquiry into the financial status of the family. That means anyone, regardless of income, can come by to eat lunch, according to Roberts.
Children through the age of 18 receive meals free, while adults pay $3.20 for lunch. The USDA reimburses the district for the cost of serving the meals.
“The biggest regulation we have to enforce is that adults can’t eat food off a child’s plate,” said Roberts.
The three locations started serving lunch on May 25 and will continue serving lunch until Aug. 14.
“So far we have been averaging 900 lunches a day total for all three locations combined,” Roberts said. “That’s just a little more than last year.”
The district started the Summer Foodservice Program in 2009 at Harris and Anna Smith Elementary Schools as a response to the economy to help families that needed help feeding their children, according to Roberts.
In order to be eligible for the program, the school where the meal is served must have at least 50 percent of its students participating in the federal school lunch program.
Northlake, Harris, and Anna Smith are the only schools in the Tooele County School District that qualify, according to Roberts.
The menu for the summer lunch program is posted on the Tooele County School District’s website at www.tooeleschools.org.
Monday’s lunch was sloppy joes on a whole-wheat bun, oven baked crispy French fries, an apple, white cake with green frosting, and a salad bar. Grated cheese was available to add to the sloppy joe or salad.
“I love it when noon comes and hungry kids with a smile pour into the lunchroom,” said Susan Hainsworth, Harris Elementary lunch room coordinator.