Districts Provide Students with Summer Meals

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The Vista Unified School District, like other school districts in San Diego County, is offering free summer meals from for children ages 18 and under at multiple locations in the city.
On Tuesday, June 20, the District held a summer meals kick off party at the Boys and Girls Club of Vista where children played nutrition themed games and had a free meal of chicken salad, wheat bread, and strawberries.
However, the district is not only focused on feeding students during the summer, but also on providing students with healthy meals.
Director of Child Nutrition Services Jamie Phillips said he is working on a bid for the District to encourage the use of fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms.
“When we have schools that actually touch farms, why not take advantage of that?” Phillips said. “If our contract goes as planned we are going to have over 100,000 pounds of fruit within a 25 mile radius of (The Boys and Girls Club of Vista) next year.”
Phillips said students are involved in the selection process by providing feedback on the meals they prefer though a google survey for the next menu cycle.
“One of my philosophies is if I’m not going to eat the food, I don’t expect the kids to,” Phillips said.
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The meal served to children on Tuesday was what the district calls a “cold meal.” Because some of the locations serving meals do not have heating appliances, cold meals are prepared somewhere else and sent to those locations.
“Hot meals” are made on site and are served at locations like Alta Vista High School, Maryland Elementary, and <a href="http://www.vistausd.org/news/view?d=x&id=1494837954759&group_id…; target="_blank" rel="noopener">several others</a>.
Vista Unified serves meals at 16 sites across Vista and Oceanside, Monday through Friday.
When all locations are operating, VUSD expects to serve 8,000 meals per week. Each location has different operating hours and dates but the Boys and Girls Club of Vista will serve meals from June 8 to August 11.
Other districts in San Diego County are also offering summer meals like, San Diego Unified School District, Sweetwater Union High School District, Chula Vista Unified School District, and many more.
Phillips said there has been a change in how parents and children react to this program because instead of showing up for food and leaving, it has become more like a giant picnic.
Information about the VUSD summer meals program, schedules and menus are posted on the district’s Nutrition Services website or parents can text “FOOD or COMIDA” to 877-877 to find a location near them.