Here\u2019s some good news that\u2019s easy on your family budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Right now, kids can enjoy free nutritious meals at schools across Broward and Miami-Dade counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moms With A Mic, Julia and Marissa Bagg, visited Coral Springs Elementary, where kids are chowing down daily for free, whether they\u2019re attending a summer session or not. It\u2019s all thanks to the Broward Schools Summer Feeding Program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI myself came from a low-income family that didn\u2019t have it, and I think it\u2019s great we offer it to them, the food and nutrition department offers it to them throughout the summer,\u201d said Theresa Battie, Triple Manager at Broward County Public Schools.<\/p>\n
This summer, 69 schools across Broward County are participating in the program: Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Dillard 6-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Apollo Middle School in Hollywood and Tropical Elementary School in Plantation, to name a few.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Battie runs the program at three campuses and said some families depend on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it puts a little more at ease for the families that can\u2019t afford it, you have families that can\u2019t afford it, offering breakfast and lunch is awesome,\u201d Battie said.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t even have to be a student at one of the schools to enjoy two free meals four days per week. Kids up to 18 can come and eat breakfast and lunch; the only requirement is that they eat the meal at the school. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes my day, those are my babies, I love them,\u201d said Jessica Reeves, who runs the kitchen at Coral Springs Elementary School. \u201cI have some picky eaters; they don\u2019t like their vegetables, but we encourage them because vegetables make you big and strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and her team served more than 1,600 meals at Coral Springs Elementary alone through June 30, which is an average of 115 meals per day. Meals kids would miss, Reeves fears, if not for the schools stepping in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad I can do that for them. With the economy going so bad, I\u2019m glad I can get something in their stomach because I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on outside,\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a better choice than McDonald\u2019s on the corner. Come and see us. We provide nutritional meals,\u201d Battie said.<\/p>\n
The Broward Summer Feeding Program ends at most schools on July 23. Miami-Dade County Schools will serve free meals at 170 schools through July 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Click on the links below to find out which schools participate in the programs:<\/p>\n