Ogden School District provides a free summer food service program to cover your child's nutrition once school's over. Learn when and where you can find it.
Ogden School District knows that proper nutrition is important for providing the best education for our students. But once school’s over for the year, students lose access to daily lunch and breakfast, and many are dependent on it. With the help of students and their families to fill this gap, an alternative is available once the final bell rings in June.
Free Meals in Ogden in the summer
Our Summer Feeding Program provides free meals and snacks for 18-year-olds and under. This is one of the many summer programs that support academic progress for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school schedules. These meals are available to children at select locations and conditions in the Ogden area.
This program is provided by the Ogden School District Nutrition Services, which gives students information on fitness and nutrition and access to low-cost and free meals. The meals these children are provided in the summer meet the federal nutrition guidelines made by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Locations must be approved by the SFSP to be considered a feeding site eligible to serve free meals to children in the area.
History of the Ogden School Summer Feeding Program
Our Summer Feeding Program began in 2020 when Ogden School District began serving free lunch across eight schools in the district. Thanks to the help of programs like the SFSP, Ogden School District received the funding for two meal types per day.
Usually, those meals are served in a group setting, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, we had to suspend that requirement. We continued providing meals to children through curbside pick-up. Those summer meals were filled with things that kids enjoy eating, like hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, and turkey sandwiches.
How are meals provided?
Any organization involved in a free summer feeding program may prepare its own meals, purchase meals through an agreement with a school, or create a contract with a vendor approved by the SFSP. Sites with kitchens can prepare their own meals, but they can still transport meals to other sites too. Schools that prepare the meals themselves get more funding since federal and private sponsors normally can’t prepare the meals and remove the need to purchase meals.
Also read: Ogden International Baccalaureate Program for Kids
When and where to go for summer feeding
Ogden School District’s program begins the first week of June (June 6th this year) and continues until July 29. We distribute breakfast to the following schools that the program designates as feeding sites from 8:15 am-8:45 am:
Along with the chosen schools, you can also feed your child with a free lunch at several parks in the Ogden area from 11:30 am-12:15 pm:
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4th Street Park
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Lorin Farr Park
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Monroe Park
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West Ogden Park
The schools that offer breakfast also offer lunch at that same time (the parks do not serve breakfast). Ogden School District does not serve meals on Independence Day (July 4) and July 25.
Why is a summer feed program important?
Ogden School District understands that many parents depend on their children to have a proper breakfast and lunch for a productive day, and that is why we have made free or low-cost meal options possible for students. Expanding access to nutrition when schools are out benefits their households and the community in general, especially for low-income children. Summer feeding programs have been shown to lower food insecurity for them. Our district finds that children from food-insecure and partially food-insecure households are most likely to eat school meals. Those children are also more likely to gain nutrition from those meals than other children.
What you can do to help
Ogden School District hopes you understand that as parents, you have the advantage of giving your child a lot of nutritional resources. We encourage you to find more health resources to help your child this summer. Learn about nutrition, budgeting, cooking, food safety, and physical activity that ensures your child's development. If you can, share it with other community members or join summer activities that promote fitness.
We encourage you to share what you know about the Summer Feeding Program with neighbors or groups. Let them know how they can get free meals during the summer, especially for those who need them. Share your story on social media if you visited or gained benefits from free meals through this program. Let people know they can get help for their kids in the summer.
Ogden School District can help you keep your kid healthy for the summer while keeping your food budget low. For more information and online menus, contact us or go to www.osdmeals.org.