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NC school districts will begin summer meal program with some changes

Children and teens 18 and younger can access free meals through the summer program. No ID or registration is required. KERI BROWN/WFDD

School districts across North Carolina are alerting parents and families to new changes in the free and reduced-cost meal program. That includes summer breakfasts and lunches for kids.

Federally funded summer meals are designed to fill in the nutrition gap for children when school is out of session. The program begins in June and usually runs through August. Any child 18 and under can receive free healthy meals.

The USDA granted North Carolina waivers during the pandemic to eliminate food access barriers for families. That included providing grab-and-go meals and allowing parents to pick up more than one meal at a time. But those waivers will expire, and so kids will have to go in-person and eat their meals at sites.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will have 27 locations throughout the district. They're also planning several mobile meal sites.

Alicia Crews with the district's child nutrition department says despite the challenges, they're ready to meet the needs.

“We anticipate a great need for these meals in our community this summer. With the rising cost of food and supplies, families are probably going to need our services more than ever.”

Last summer, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools served more than 400,000 meals. The district is also asking parents to apply for free and reduced school lunches by June 9 for the next school year, and it will be granted based on eligibility. 

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news.

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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