As the school year ends and some students and their families are faced with food insecurity, the state board of education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have stepped in to help some school districts statewide – including in the northwest suburbs – give kids continued access to meals.
High school and elementary school districts serving students in Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove and other area municipalities are offering morning and, in some cases, afternoon meals.
“The time of year should not dictate whether a child has access to healthy meals. Summer meal programs are integral in ensuring that any child in need has access to nutritious food all year long,” state Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said in a statement to Pioneer Press.
Barrington School District 220 and Community Consolidated School District 21 – which serves portions of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and Wheeling – are providing meals this summer. For these school districts and others participating in the summer food service program, the Illinois State Board of Education administers the funding that comes from the USDA.
While Lake Zurich District 95, Arlington Heights School District 25 and Kildeer Countryside School District 96 are not providing meals through this program, Sanders said there is a resource available for families to see all the districts that are.
“Illinois SNAP-Ed recently updated the Find IL Food map, which is an important resource families can use to find out which sites are participating in their area, if meals are offered for free or at reduced prices, and who is eligible,” he said in the statement.
ISBE spokeswoman Emily Johnson said school districts, along with community organizations, churches, camps, park districts, some libraries and others, helped serve more than 3.1 million meals last summer through the federally funded Summer Food Service Program. A total of 1,560 meal sites in 53 of the state’s 102 counties provide the program, she said. Sponsors in the program receive a reimbursement for each meal served during the summer break, and dates and times vary by district.
“During our first week, the district served 14,924 meals,” said Micheal DeBartolo, SD21 assistant superintendent of finance and operations.
He explained that on June 9, some 4,318 meals were provided.
“While it’s great news, it demonstrates that the need for students receiving meals that may not otherwise be available to them still exists within our community,” he said.
As a result of that need, the district offers free lunch throughout the summer for any child 18 years of age and younger, according to SD21 spokeswoman Cassandra Young.
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Lunch is served at district schools from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday until Aug. 4. Lunch will not be served on the following dates: July 3, 4, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Students attending summer school in person can receive free meals onsite at: Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Dr., Buffalo Grove; Windsor Ridge Park, 780 Vernon Lane, Buffalo Grove; Kilmer Elementary School, 655 Golfview Terrace, Buffalo Grove; Indian Trails Library, 355 Schoenbeck Road, Wheeling; London Middle School, 1001 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling; Childerley Park, 506 McHenry Road, Wheeling; Whippletree Playground, 525 N. McHenry Road, Wheeling; Twain Elementary School, 515 E. Merle Lane, Wheeling; Hawthorne School, 200 Glendale St., Wheeling; Chamber Park, 131 N. Wolf Road, Wheeling; Whitman Elementary School, 133 S. Willie Ave., Wheeling; Willow Trails Park, 1 Apple Dr. and Burning Bush Lane, Prospect Heights; Holmes Middle School, 221 S. Wolf Road, Wheeling; Riley Elementary School, 1209 E. Burr Oak Drive, Arlington Heights.
In Barrington, breakfast and lunch are provided during summer school classes through July 27 as part of the district’s “Seamless Summer Program” at Sunny Hill Elementary School and through June 30 as part of the National School Lunch Program at Grove Avenue Elementary, Roslyn Road Elementary School, Barrington Middle School- Station campus and Barrington Middle School- Prairie campus – all where summer school is being held.
“We are committed to supporting the children in our community and that commitment doesn’t stop when the school year ends,” said SD220 spokeswoman Samantha Scheinman.
She said the district is currently serving meals to 1,800 students.
“We are happy to provide children with access to nutritious meals this summer,” she said.
Breakfast includes a choice of entrée, string cheese or graham crackers, fruit, juice and milk. Breakfast is offered 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Sunny Hill Elementary School, Grove Avenue Elementary, Roslyn Road Elementary School and Station and Prairie middle schools, Scheinman said.
Lunch is also offered at Sunny Hill and Station middle school through June 30 from 10 a.m. to noon. Meal choices include hamburgers, apples, a vegetable and a milk.
All children who are 18 years old and younger, or over 18 and have a disability, are eligible for a free breakfast and free lunch each school day during meal service periods at Sunny Hill Elementary School, according to officials.
Students at Grove and Roslyn elementary schools, and at both Station and Prairie middle schools, are charged based on the kids’ free or reduced price status, with costs ranging from 30 cents to $1.50 for breakfast and 40 cents to $3 for lunch, in accordance with the National School Lunch Program, officials explained.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.