YUHSD doubles meal sites to meet hunger need
Yuma Union High School District’s number of summer meal sites doubled this year with the goal of being able to serve more hungry families throughout the community.
At a recent YUHSD meeting, Student Nutrition Services Director Jamie Walden reported that the district went from offering 14 summer meal sites last year through USDA’s Summer Food Service Program to 28 locations throughout Yuma, Somerton and San Luis.
As Arizona was recently designated as having the fifth-highest amount of kids who go hungry, Walden reported the USDA targeted school districts in the state and asked them to add at least one more summer meal site, one more week, or one more meal to their summer programs as a way to help combat hunger.
“It was my goal this year to find ways to feed more kids this summer,” said Walden. “I contacted nu- merous community leaders in specific areas of Yuma, asking for their assistance this summer. I offered to provide the food and staff if they would be willing to provide a location for us to serve kids meals. I had a great response from the public.”
Superintendent Toni Badone commended Walden for going “above and beyond” to identify additional sites in the area and also for her work in applying for grants to help fund the initiative.
Through partnering with the district’s Migrant Program, Walden was able to add two buses to their summer meal program, allowing for families to eat on the bus at a handful of select Somerton and San Luis sites. Books were also purchased for kids to check out on the bus as well.
“So the buses arrive with the meals and books that kids can check out and bring back later in the week or the next week… it’s like a book mobile with lunches,” described Badone.
The air conditioned bus- es also have wireless Internet allowing parents to do things like check their email or pay bills.
Through grants from the Dairy Council of Arizona and also from Walmart, Walden is able to tie in exercise into the summer meal programs at the district’s six school sites, giving away items like sports balls, gloves, pedometers, books, magazines and bikes. Some sites such as The Connecting Point Church and The Scouts Service Center have also planned crafts and activities to engage the kids and keep them interested in coming back, she said.
“We’re getting great feedback about it. People are really happy about it,” Badone said in regard to the summer meal program.
“I don’t think people realize how many of our students K-12 in our county are eligible for free and reduced lunch prices during the school year and then summer hits.”
In YUHSD, Badone noted that 68 percent of its students qualify for free and reduced lunches. With the increased amount of sites this year, the district was able to serve 9,651 meals in the first four days of the program, compared to the 2,205 meals served in the same time period last summer. It has also been able to provide jobs over the summer for 31 of its 101 cafeteria staff members in a time when they would not regularly be employed.
The USDA Summer Food Service Program allows districts to provide children 18 and under with free, nutritious meals during the summer months. Parents and other family members can also eat with the children at a discounted price of $1.50 for breakfast and $2.50 for lunch.
Most sites within YUHSD’s program will continue serving meals until July 23. People can visit www.nutrition.yumaunion.org for a schedule of meal times and loca- tions. Anyone is welcome to attend.
In other meeting news, the board heard a report on the progress of the Ready Now Yuma program.
Badone said that student supports and interventions will be the emphasis of its professional development for the upcoming school year. District staff members, in collaboration with the Helios Education Foundation, are working to systemize tiered strategies for instructors to implement in the classroom as a way to better support struggling students.
The board will be deciding at a July meeting to approve another position at San Luis High School to provide extra support for staff as it implements these strategies.
Ready Now Yuma is an initiative of YUHSD and the Helios Education Foundation that focuses on ensuring that every student in the district graduates prepared to succeed in college and career.