Summer can be one of the hungriest times of the year for kids across the country who lose access to a reliable breakfast and lunch they receive throughout the school year. To combat this critical loss, summer meal programs throughout the country gear up to support kids and relieve the burden from families during the summer months. In Mercer County Kentucky, Food Service Director, Chris Minor, and his team are doing just that.
When Chris started at Mercer County Schools almost six years ago, he knew he wanted to expand meals for kids beyond their summer school program. Chris recognized the importance of expanding beyond the four walls of their school building to take care of kids year-round. The pandemic made that wish a necessity. With some key waivers to the summer meals program, Mercer County Schools began operating non-congregate, or grab & go sites so kids or a caregiver could pick them up and eat them at home.
As programs and regulations started to return to normal in summer 2022, these waivers ended and students were required to eat at a meal site. This change to more traditional summer meals came with some barriers: 1) limited sites and staff capacity that comes with operating a site, 2) the requirement for kids to be present and stay on site to eat the meal, and 3) needing reliable transportation to get to and from the site each day of the week. With these regulations back in place, the number of meals served last summer decreased significantly to about 35,000 meals.
However, the need did not decrease. In a community hard hit by the pandemic, with rising inflation and economic strains, growing multigenerational households, and additional pandemic-era benefits coming to an end, Chris knew that families relied on the flexibility allowed by non-congregate meals. So, when Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and non-congregate meals in rural areas was written into law, Chris didn’t hesitate to put plans together to operate 10 non-congregate sites throughout the county this summer.
With a mix of drive-thru stationary sites and mobile routes, Chris and his team are able to cast a wider net to meet families where they are, and the results speak for themselves. During their first 10 minutes of operations on day 1, they were out of their prepared meal kits, each containing 7 breakfasts and 7 lunches. In June 2023 alone, they’ve served 73,000 meals – more than double the amount served all last summer, and are on track to exceed that number in July.
According to Chris, “families love it compared to last year, they’re so grateful and have reached out to us to express their thanks. Not to mention it’s much more convenient for families to access.”
For summer meal providers throughout the country, the option to operate non-congregate meal service alongside traditional summer meal sites has been incredibly important for ensuring all children have increased access to summer meals regardless of their geography.