Schools throughout Cullman County will be serving breakfast and lunches to students throughout the month of June as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program.
The USDA estimates around 30 million children participate in its breakfast and lunch programs, which offers free or reduced meals to students, on any given school day. In an effort to continue serving those children while school is not is session, the USDA announced last month a new suite of resources it is calling its SUN Programs.
“USDA’s SUN Programs offer more options for families to conveniently access the essential nutrition children need to thrive, lear and grow during summer and beyond,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release dated May 21.
The most recent school year was the first that all Cullman County Schools’ students were provided no-cost meals thanks to changes in the eligibility requirements to qualify for the USDA’s Community Eligibility Provision which factor’s in students who receive free or reduced lunches in addition to other federal food assistance programs such as SNAP.
Hanceville Elementary Child Nutrition Worker Sonia Burgess estimated more than 130 children had already been served just after 11 a.m. Monday. She said the bulk of those students were participating in the school’s summer programs, but anyone 18-years-old or younger could benefit from the program. Burgess said in the past, between 10 and 15 students from the community were given a SUN Meal each day.
“We know that some of our babies don’t get fed all that well when they are at home and out of school. This is just a good way for us to make sure they keep getting the nutrition that they need,” Burgess said.
The SUN Meals programs is essentially a rebranding of the department’s tradition of offering in-person summer meals in community locations, such as schools, since 1968.
An interactive USDA map shows the following locations within the Cullman County School district will be offering on-site SUN Meals Monday through Friday in the following locations until June 28.
— Cold Springs.
— Fairview.
— Good Hope Elementary.
— Harmony.
— Holly Pond.
— Parkside.
— Vinemont.
— Welti.
— West Point.
Breakfast at these locations will be served between 8 and 9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The map also shows breakfast will also be available at West Elementary from 7:45 until 8 a.m. and lunch will be available from 11 to 11:30 a.m., but Cullman City’s Child Nutrition Program Director Leslie Dawson said it is a “closed site” which only offers free meals to students participating in the school’s summer enrichment programs.
The SUN Meals to-go program, which first launched in 2023, offers pick-up or delivery options in many rural areas where SUN Meals are not available.
Alabama is one of the few states where no to-go sites are available.
Alabama is also one of 11 states with no plans to participate in the newest USDA SUN Bucks program which would provide a supplemental $120 grocery benefit to every eligible school-aged child this summer.
SUN Bucks can be used at grocery stores or food retailers and acts as an expansion of family grocery budgets to purchase any food which best fits their families’ needs.
The USDA expects around 21 million children to benefit from the launch of the SUN Bucks program in its first year and estimates it could reduce child hunger by up to 33 percent.