Anne Arundel County Public Schools will continue to provide nutritional resources for children across the county again this summer, expanding its free summer meals program at 19 sites (15 last year) and aiming to serve nearly 100,000 (70,000 last year) meals by the time school resumes in August. The program will begin on Wednesday, June 25 and run Monday through Thursday through August 14, depending upon the location.
Some of the sites will be completely open to the public while others will serve young people attending specific programs related to an organization or facility. According to this schedule, anyone between the ages of 2 and 18 can visit a site and receive free breakfast and/or lunch as part of the “Food That’s In When School Is Out” meals program. There are no income or registration requirements.
In addition to the open sites, mobile meals service will deliver to various locations throughout the western and northern parts of the county according to the above schedule. All applicable neighborhoods will receive notice of when the mobile meals will be available in their area.
“I am so proud that we’ve been able to not only continue this important program, but also expand it to feed more and more children by the thousands,” said Jodi Risse, AACPS’ Supervisor of Food and Nutrition Services. “We truly believe that healthy bodies fuel healthy minds and that notion is no different just because class is no longer in session.”
Using federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Anne Arundel County Public Schools also serves meals at various summer school and summer camp sites and works with organizations and agencies to help feed their young participants.
In the current school year, AACPS will serve nearly 5 million lunches and 2.7 million breakfasts in schools. The system receives no county funds to operate lunch and breakfast programs. Revenue for the program comes from federal reimbursements (54 percent), food sales (43 percent), and state funding (3 percent).
In addition to in-school breakfast and lunch and the aforementioned programs, AACPS offers a variety of programs to help foster healthy students, cultivate community wellness, and aid in closing the achievement gap. These include Maryland Meals for Achievement at 44 schools, the At-Risk Dinner Program at 23 schools, Breakfast With Class at 7 schools, and the Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Program.
2014 Summer Meals Open Sites Schedule
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.
The Maryland State Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, disability, or sexual orientation in matters affecting employment or in providing access to programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. For inquiries related to Department policy, please contact: Agency Equity Officer, Equity Assurance and Compliance Office, Office of the Deputy State Superintendent for Finance and Administration, Maryland State Department of Education, 200 W. Baltimore Street – 6th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2595. 410-767-0433 – voice, 410-767-0431 – fax, 410-333-6442 – TTY/TDD