'Nutrition is incredibly important': Waco ISD to serve children in the community

Waco ISD's Summer Feeding Program is aiming to serve as many breakfast and lunch meals to as many kids as possible this summer.

Ending on August 8, the program is in 31 spots, including two food trucks — they'll be hitting multiple locations across Waco.

You can find where meals are served and what times here.

• The meal program ends August 8
• 31 locations, including two food trucks, will be all around the Waco Area
• In the first two weeks of the program, over 37,000 meals have been served
• The program is free to kids 0-18 years old

BROADCAST SCRIPT:

It’s a scene you don’t typically see on a summer morning — children happy to be back on campus, because they get to enjoy breakfast in the school cafeteria.

But if it weren’t for the Cocoa Puffs and juice, their stomachs might be empty.

“We expect to serve around 36,000 breakfasts and about 60,000 some-odd lunches during the summer,” said Clifford Reece, Food Service Director for Waco ISD.

It’s all part of Waco ISD’s Summer Feeding Program — a program from USDA and Texas Department of Agriculture.

Children under 18, regardless of where they live or go to school, can go to 31 designated spots, including several apartment complexes and a pair of food trucks across Waco, to receive breakfast and lunch.

The program is available Monday through Friday throughout the summer.

“All these meals are free for any child from zero to 18-years-old," Reece said.

"We purchase the food as a school district, as a department — we’re responsible for the menu, purchasing the food, the staffing and the serving of the meals, so the food itself is paid for the reimbursements from the federal government that we receive when we serve these meals to the children."

The goal? To make sure no child goes hungry in Central Texas neighborhoods — providing good energy, good food, and making sure children do not have to worry about where their next meal might come from.

“With the goal being to provide children with the opportunity for their future education, nutrition is incredibly important to that,” Reece said.

More information can be found here .