HOUSTON – Houston Independent School District started the curbside summer meal program for children ages 1 to 18 on Monday.
The district said families will be able to pick up boxed student meals twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays at one of 68 designated schools across the district. Boxes may be picked up by students, parents, or other adult family members.
HISD Nutrition Services Officer Betti Wiggins said that the meals will hopefully help lighten the burden for families who are struggling.
“These meals are put in the household and help to ease some of the pressure on families who don’t have enough money who are income insecure who don’t have enough money to buy food for their children," Wiggins said.
Each box will contain a day’s worth of meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack. The district says families will receive several days’ worth of food — three boxes on Mondays and four on Thursdays — per child at each pickup.
Boxes will be provided for all children in the vehicle. Children are not required to be present, but the driver must show proof of enrollment in any school district (report card, student id, etc.) or birth certificate.
“The school year may be wrapping up, but the need is still there for our families,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, EdD, said. “By modifying our traditional summer meals program, we can continue to feed our students in a safe way.”
Mandated by the state, the transition to the summer meals program marks the end of the district’s community feeding efforts, held in partnership with the Houston Food Bank.
The district said in the 10 weeks since the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 5.2 million pounds of food have been served to Houston families in need through distribution sites across the district.
For a list of current weekday community distribution sites, visit www.HoustonISD.org/HealthAlerts.
For more information on the summer meals program and to see a map of food distribution sites, please visit houstonisd.org/summermeals.