School districts to offer free breakfast and lunch

Even after the school year is over, West Plains' students can go to their schools' cafeterias for breakfast and lunch during summer break.

In a news release, the Cheney School District announced it will once again sponsor the Seamless Summer Feeding Program for Children, which offers free breakfast and lunch for children under 18. Medical Lake School District announced it will also offer free meals for children ages 1-18 through its Summer Food Service Program.

For Cheney students, free meals will be available at Cheney High School, Cheney Middle School, Westwood Middle School and Sunset Elementary School, from June 21 – July 28, except for July 4 as the buildings will be closed for the holiday. Breakfast will be served from 8-8:15 a.m. and lunch will be served 11 a.m. - noon.

Students attending Betz and Salnave elementary schools can go to the high school for meals. Windsor and Snowdon elementary school students can go to Westwood.

Cheney Nutrition Services Director Jerald (LJ) Klinkenberg said this is the third year Cheney has sponsored the program. He said sponsoring the program not only allows the district to serve free meals over the summer, but also lets staff acquire more fruits and vegetables grown from local farms.

Klinkenberg said the goals of this year's program are to feed as many students as possible, to make sure kids "have enough to eat," and to serve food "that is at a higher level of quality than last year."

"The program will also give kitchen staff a chance to try out some new recipes for next year," Klinkenberg added.

For Medical Lake students, food will be served at Hallett Elementary School, Monday through Friday from June 27 – Aug. 19, with the exception of July 4. Breakfast will be served from 9-9:15 a.m. and lunch is served from 11:30-11:45 a.m.

Medical Lake School District Superintendent Tim Ames said the summer meals program fits nicely with the district's summer school program at Hallett.

Like Klinkenberg, Ames' said the district hopes to "feed as many kids as possible."

For more information on the free summer meals programs contact the following personnel:

Medical Lake - Jill Howard at (509) 565-3131.

Cheney - LJ Klinkenberg at (509) 559-4506.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.