Cumberland County Schools launches annual free summer meals program: 'It's helpful'

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cumberland County Schools launched its annual free meals for kids summer program on Monday.

Officials say they typically give away 2,000 to 4,000 meals a day to children of all backgrounds. However, they note that hunger is becoming a more challenging issue in the area.

Parents tell ABC11 News they can't get enough of the program.

"We love it. We sit here, we eat. We have a good time. And a lot of the staff know us. So they also had free books, one time, and free videotapes. So it's a great thing to do over the summer to get out to the heat," said CCS parent Lesha Hines of Fayetteville.

For one parent, it's also a matter of convenience.

"It's helpful because I work full time and so on the days I'm off, I don't have to think about what to feed them for lunch," said Jessica Edson, also a CCS parent in Fayetteville. "We can just come up here and grab something."

Edson says her kids have several favorites on the menu.

"Cheese Dunkers is their favorite. And pizza and barbecue meatballs. They pretty much like it all."

"With this program, we don't identify the students when they arrive," said Beth Maynard, the executive director of CCS Child Nutrition Services. "So there's no application, no enrollment. If the child walks in, if we question whether or not they're 18 years or older, we ask them. But otherwise, you know, we just feed the child as they come in."

Maynard says while the free summer meals program has been running for 30 years, it's become more widely known and used by families in recent years. CCS also says they can see how economic pressures from the pandemic, inflation--and rising grocery prices are making hunger worse in the region. Officials say they used to serve about 40,000 meals a summer.

However, last year, that number skyrocketed to 91,000.

"We especially want to make sure we're reaching the children who rely on school meals," Maynard said, "but we're pleased to be able to help every family."

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