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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

The Chilton County Board of Education will be hosting the Summer Food Service Program again this summer in June and July.

The program provides breakfast and lunch opportunities to those 18 and under at locations throughout the county. No registration or identification is required to participate.

Coordinator Melody Bailey said the local program is being expanded this year to include Friday meals at some locations.

Bailey said it “means a lot, it’s huge” to have the opportunity to provide hundreds more meals this summer.

“In this county … Millions of kids go without food in the summer time when schools aren’t in,” Bailey said. “So, to be able to feed them here, and because our school system is such a high free and reduced (lunch) percentage, we know there are a lot of kids that don’t get the meals, adequate meals that they need, during the summer time.”

Bailey said the opportunity is also open to children visiting family in Chilton County this summer.

“Its’s not just students in our school system,” Bailey said.

All locations will be closed on July 4 in observance of Independence Day.

The program will follow a similar format to school lunches in that students will have some options to choose from.

Bailey said each lunch will have a meat, fruit, vegetable, milk and a grain.

Three of the elements will be prepackaged together in order to meet the USDA guidelines for reimbursement.

It is this reimbursement that funds the program.

New for this year, on certain days, will be frozen fruit drinks.

“One of them actually gets to count as a vegetable because of what’s in it,” Bailey said. “It is fruit and vegetables mixed … so they are getting their fruits and vegetables in a fun way.”

A menu for the program is available at chilton.k12.al.us.

Meals served through the program increased by 2,016 last summer over the previous year. Bailey said this accounted for 100 more children.

Bailey is working with the Chilton County Extension Office to possibly have activities for children at select locations.

This year’s locations and times include:

 

Jemison High School (Monday through Thursday)

25195 U.S. Highway 31

Jemison, AL 35085

June 4-July 27

Breakfast 7:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Lunch 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

 

E.M. Henry Skills Center (Monday through Friday)

413 14th Street

Clanton, AL 35045

June 4-July 27

Lunch only 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

 

Clanton Housing Authority (Monday through Friday)

100 Thompson Ave

Clanton, AL 35045

June 4-July 27

Lunch only 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

 

Chilton County High School (Monday through Thursday)

1214 Seventh Street South

Clanton, AL 35045

June 4-July 27

Breakfast 7:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Lunch 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

 

YMCA (Monday through Friday)

405 Ollie Ave

Clanton, AL 35045

May 29 – Aug. 2

Breakfast 7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Lunch 11:15 a.m.  – noon