By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Youth ages 1 through 18 will be eligible for free drive-through meals again this summer.
Jessica Younker, Hays USD 489 director of nutrition services, said the school district has been cleared to continue its popular drive-through program.
"It was really successful last year," Younker said, "and we had a lot of families who were thankful they could just pick it up and go instead of having to stay on site to eat."
Meals can be picked up between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays on the east side of the Hays High School parking lot.
The meals will start June 1 and go through July 29. There will be no service July 5 because of the Fourth of July holiday.
A child does not have to be enrolled in USD 489 to participate in the food program, and there are no income requirements to participate in the program.
Children need to be in the vehicle when picking up food. If that is not possible, you can contact USD 489 nutrition services to obtain a waiver for that requirement.
Children will be provided with a hot lunch and cold breakfast for the following morning. On Thursdays, they also will be provided with a second cold breakfast and lunch for Friday.
You can find menus at usd489nutritionservices.com.
Younker said she was unsure how many families to expect. The program will initially base food service on numbers from last summer and then adjust according. Last summer, the program served 300 to 400 children daily.
"All children in the community are welcome to join us for our free drive-through meals, and we are excited to serve the kids this summer," Younker said.
The United States Department of Agriculture is also funding free school breakfasts and lunches nationwide for all students for the 2021-22 school year. Younker said food insecurity for children continues to be an issue across the nation due to economic hardship as a result of the pandemic.
She said it is difficult to determine how the pandemic affected food insecurity among Hays children within the last year, because meals were also free for the 2020-21 school year.
She said some families may have not applied for free or reduced-price lunch status because free meals were provided for all students.
"There is definitely food insecurity in Hays," Younker said. "There are definitely kids whose only meals come from school. That is why we are excited to provide meals for all kids through the summer and next school year."
