Free summer meal kits for kids available now in Lee County

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK)—The School District of Lee County and Summer BreakSpot are working together to provide free meal kits for children over the summer break.

Staff are packing hundreds of meal kits and stocking them at six schools and eight community-based locations. The kits will be distributed on Mondays between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Parents need to show up with a school ID, report card or any documentation showing the number of children needing a meal kit. Each kit contains shelf-stable foods including milk, cereal and peanut butter and jelly snacks that can feed a child for an entire week.

Bonnie Ross, field manager with Food and Nutrition Services, said families are stretching their budgets.

"Where they traditionally would be, we'd be feeding them at the camps, and we're seeing lower participation, so that only tells us that people are trying to make the budget last longer, so this is a great opportunity," Ross said.

The program is open to all families, not just those in financial need.

"You don't even need to be in need of food, so you know what, we feed your child every day, right, Monday through Friday, breakfast and lunch, so you know what, let us continue to do it during the summer," Ross said.

The program begins Monday and runs through the end of July. Families can pick up meal kits weekly at participating locations, including Gateway High School.

Collier, Glades, Charlotte, Hendry, and DeSoto counties all have summer meal programs running as well.