For second grader Jacques Bourget, getting the free school lunch at Jackson Elementary in Plant City means he gets watermelon, which he said helps him run fast during his favorite class – recess.
“Watermelon is healthy,” Bourget said. “And it makes me healthy.”
Bourget is one of the 218,000 students in Hillsborough County who can get free breakfasts and lunches over the summer.
With the rising cost of food, a nutritionist said these free, healthy meals are essential to getting students the nutrition they need to learn, grow and play.
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Shani Hall, the director of Student Nutrition Services, said these meals are not cheap for the district – but having them is so important to students.
“Food is not getting less expensive,” Hall said. “So access to summer meals is important to us, so children can continue to grow and be nourished and be ready for a good summer.”
Counties are once again participating in this statewide program, Summer BreakSpot.
It will cost Hillsborough Schools roughly $2.5 million to provide free breakfast and lunches to students at its 170 locations from June 2 through July 20.
Hall said maintaining the program has been a challenge not only because of rising costs, but also unpredictable tariffs.
“We’ve been making some changes, just like we do at home, trying to find a suitable product that’s a little less expensive,” Hall said.
But Hall said the district has to ensure they aren’t sacrificing the quality of the food they’re offering.
Each meal includes milk, fruits or vegetables, grains, and during lunches, a serving of protein.
Hall said turning to locally-sourced food has helped keep costs manageable, but if prices continue to rise, the district might have to join Pinellas and Pasco Counties in raising the prices of their meals.
“We’re hoping things are going to even out and we’ll be able to take a breath and not continue to see prices go up all the time,” she said.
Hall said demand for these meals is going up as well. While she said it may be because they’re prioritizing locally-grown and chef-inspired food, she thinks there may be another reason.
“I also think it’s because times are hard and kids do rely on these meals,” she said.
Last year, the district served almost 570,000 meals to children over the summer. This year, they’re planning to pass out at least that many.
Third grader Kristel Toledo said her favorite part of getting lunch at school is spending time with her friends.
Eating lunch at Jackson Elementary’s Florida Food Day, she said she was happy to get a salad, cucumbers, and her favorite fruit, watermelon.
“I like getting a healthy meal at school because I like the healthy food that they give us,” Toledo said.
Alina Clark has worked for the county’s student nutrition services department for 13 years. Walking through the Jackson Elementary cafeteria during lunchtime, students stopped to give her a hug and thank her for serving food.
“These kids need to see and know every single day that when they walk in here, that they are loved,” Clark said.
For Clark, that love comes in the form of a nutritious meal.
“I want them to eat,” she said. “I want them to fuel their minds and their bodies, and I want them to grow up and be something amazing.”
She said offering locally-sourced food is more than just a cost-saving technique.
“When you’re eating items that are from your area, it’s healthier and better for you because your body has adapted to that,” Clark said.
Hall said, even if families can put food on the table, what they can afford is sometimes processed and lacking the nutrition kids need. That’s why she said summer meals at school are so important.
“Sometimes it’s convenient to have those foods around, but it’s more important to have as many natural foods as possible,” she said.
And Clark knows how challenging it can be for families to afford to feed their kids. She said that families' bills go up in the summer – something she experienced as a former single mother of five.
“It can be hard as a parent,” she said.
She said she wants families to be able to turn to the schools to alleviate some of the financial burden throughout the summer.
“Being able to offer them something nutritious and making sure that they’re able to go to bed not hungry is sometimes life changing for these families,” Clark said, tearing up.
How schools in the greater Tampa Bay region are serving the food
These summer breakfasts and lunches will be served on site since only rural areas can offer the grab-and-go meals that were available during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pasco County has three of those locations – Connerton, Lacoochee and San Antonio Elementary – offering curbside meal pickup every Tuesday between June 9 and July 22. Children can pick up seven days of breakfast and lunch each week.
Other schools in the county will offer free breakfasts and lunches Monday through Thursday beginning June 9 and ending July 24, although the end date varies by location.
Sarasota County is passing out meals at its schools and some community venues, such as the Boys and Girls Club. All Faiths Food Bank is helping the district distribute food, as well as run food pantries and hot meal sites at some locations.
Manatee, Pinellas and Polk counties are also participating in the summer meals program.
All participating locations and the hours for each site are available on the Summer BreakSpot website.
