The Alamance-Burlington School System School Nutrition Team has concluded a highly successful summer feeding program, serving more than 100,000 meals to children in need throughout Alamance County. These programs, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), aim to ensure that children have access to nutritious meals when school is not in session.
Spencer Brown, Executive Director of School Nutrition for ABSS, announced that the team successfully operated two federal summer feeding programs: the Traditional Congregate Summer Feeding and the new Rural Non-Congregate Summer Feeding program. A dedicated team of 20 school nutrition workers made this achievement possible.
"We want to give a huge shout out to all of our summer feeding teams for doing an excellent job this summer," Brown stated. "The amount of quality meals handed out this summer is extremely astounding."
The programs provided daily and weekly breakfast, lunch, and snacks to children ages 4-18, making a significant impact on food security in the community. The impressive results include:
31,976 breakfasts served
51,213 lunches provided
17,791 snacks distributed
A key addition this year was the introduction of the Rural Non-Congregate feeding program. This allowed families to pick up five breakfasts and five lunches on a single day for eight weeks. "This created a huge benefit to families with limited time to pick up summer meals," Brown explained.
The Traditional Summer Feeding program, staffed by 14 workers (seven at each of the two congregate sites), accounted for 19,601 breakfasts, 38,896 lunches, and all 17,791 snacks. The Rural Non-Congregate program, managed by a team of six workers, contributed an additional 12,375 breakfasts and 12,317 lunches.
Brown emphasized the importance of these programs and the dedicated staff in addressing food insecurity among local youth. "Offering daily and weekly breakfast, lunch, and snacks has made a huge impact to the communities of Alamance County by keeping our children ages 4-18 fed with nutritious meals," he said. "Our 20 nutrition workers have been the backbone of this effort, ensuring smooth operations across all our feeding sites."
The success of this year's summer feeding program sets a positive tone for the upcoming school year. Brown expressed his gratitude to the nutrition team, stating, "You are all assets to this community and very much appreciated!"
As the ABSS School Nutrition Team looks forward to the 2024-2025 school year, they carry with them the momentum of a summer well spent in service to the community's children.
