Summer food service program

Stressing the importance of offering nutritious meals to children during the summer months, Milwaukee Public Schools announces the sponsorship of the Summer Food Service Program.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, provides nutritious meals to children during the summer, when free and reduced-price school meals are typically unavailable. Free meals will be made available to eligible children 18 years of age and under. Persons over 18 years of age who are determined by a state or local public educational agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who also participate in a public or private non-profit school program during the regular school year may receive free meals as well.

The following locations will be serving free meals this summer and are open to the public:

Allen Field, Audubon, Bethune, Bradley Tech, Browning, Brown Street, Carmen NW, Carmen S, Carmen SE, Carson, Carver, Cass, Clarke, Cooper, Doerfler, Eighty-First Street, Engleburg, Fernwood, Fifty-Third Street, Forest Home, Franklin, Fratney, Gaenslen, Grant, Grantosa, Greenfield, Hawley, Hayes, Holmes, Hopkins Lloyd, Jackson, Kagel, Keefe, King Elementary, Kluge, LaCausa, LaFollette, Lancaster, Lincoln Avenue, Lincoln Center of the Arts, Longfellow, Madison, Maple Tree, Metcalfe, MHSA, MCP-North, Mitchell Street, North, Obama, Pierce, Riley, Riverside, Rogers, Sherman, Siefert, South Division, Starms DISC, Story, Thurston Woods, Townsend, Transition, Vieau, Wedgewood, Westside I, Whitman, and Zablocki.

In addition, the following sites will be serving free meals to students enrolled in programs at these sites: Academy of Accelerated Learning, Alcott, Burdick, Clemens, Clement Avenue, Congress, Craig, Curtin, Franklin, German Immersion, Goodrich, Grant, Honey Creek, Howard, Humboldt Park, Lloyd Barbee, Lowell, MacDowell Elementary, MSOL, Ninety-Fifth Street, Parkview, Spanish Immersion, Starms ECC, Thoreau, and Trowbridge.

Parents or students can find the nearest meal location or meal service dates and time, by dialing 211 from a landline phone or (866)-211-3380 from a cell phone.

Meals are provided to eligible children regardless of race, color, national origin, age, gender or disability and there will be no discrimination in the course of meal service.

"This program fills a void created when school lunches are not available," said Tina Barkstrom. "Helping parents meet the nutritional needs of their children is the strength of this program."