Putnam County Schools providing breakfast and lunch to local children through their summer meal program.
School Nutrition Administrative Assistant Lynette Ellis said the district offers seven-day meal packs through curbside pickup at four different locations for any child under the age of 19. Ellis said students attending summer learning camps also receive daily meals at school along with shelf-stable food to take home for the weekends.
“There are kids that I still remember that tug at my heart, because we gave them an extra something,” Ellis said. “When you have them wrap their arms around you and tell you thank you and how much they love you and I love that. But a child shouldn’t have to do that. A child shouldn’t be hungry. A child shouldn’t have to beg for food.”
Ellis said the nutrition department follows National School Lunch Program guidelines to provide specific portions of meats, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Ellis said the district transitioned to providing bulk weekly meals last year to help families save money amid rising food and transportation costs.
“We know that there’s hungry kids that come to us every single day and, if they come to school hungry during the school year, they’re definitely gonna be hungry when they’re at home all summer,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the program is self-sustaining and operates through the state-funded Seamless Summer option. Ellis said families can use a QR code on the district website to register their children, which helps staff manage the volume of food needed at each site.
“We hear wonderful things about the program and how people appreciate it,” Ellis said. “Even if they can afford to buy some groceries, they might not be able to get some of the fruits and vegetables that we’re able to offer.”
Ellis said many people in the county are struggling with food insecurity regardless of whether they speak about it openly. Ellis said the rising cost of groceries has made the work more difficult because the amount of funding received from the state per meal has remained the same.
“Once you ever start in school nutrition and you start learning those hungry faces, the ones that just really need it,” Ellis said. “All you love all of the kids, but there is just something about those ones that are hungry and you know that are having a hard time.”
Ellis has worked in the school system for 26 years and said she takes pride in keeping all Putnam County students well-nourished.