Jun. 10--MOULTRIE -- A summer nutritional program that served more than 40,000 meals last year is on track to surpass that number.
The summer feeding program, which has drawn a number of detractors as well as defenders in The Observer's Rant & Rave section, provides meals to all children 18 and under at no cost. It is operated by the Colquitt County School System's School Nutrition Department.
For Colleen Johnson, a cook and server with the school system, the program helps out parents who are working. The summer program allows those parents to know their children are receiving nutritious meals, she said.
"It's wonderful," Johnson said. "I love feeding these babies. That's why I come to work."
The summer meals are all prepared at Cox Elementary, where some are eaten and the rest transported to other sites.
Typical meals include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza and chicken sandwiches, Johnson said. All lunches include a fruit, milk and juice.
The summer food service program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which reimburses schools for meals served.
It began as a pilot program in 1968, and became a separate program seven years later, according to the Agriculture Department. In 2005 nearly 2 million meals were served at 31,000 sites.
In Georgia, Colquitt County Schools is one of 55 school systems out of the state's 180 that participate, said Monica Griner, school nutrition director.
Meals meet the same nutritional standards as those served during the regular school year, she said. The program started June 2, with breaks on June 29-July 3 and July 23.
For 2009 the sites are located at Cox, Stringfellow Elementary, Communities in Schools locations, Grant Chapel AME Church, and the Boys and Girls Club.
Several day care centers also bring in children for lunch, and food is provided for YMCA camps, Griner said.
The main requirement for participants is that food be consumed on-site to ensure that children do not take food to adults. Adults may eat at the site at a cost of $2.75.
"It's not just a handing out of free food," Griner said. "It's done in an organized and monitored fashion. Food has to be consumed on that site."
Griner said she has heard the criticism of the program leveled by some members of the community, but said that it serves an important role in meeting students' nutritional needs.
"We're here to meet the needs of these kids as much as possible," she said. "If there's a child that's hungry, we want to feed them.
"If people want to come out and see it, the program in Colquitt County for children who otherwise would be left on their own in the summer when their parents are working, we welcome it. It's not something that's being taken advantage of."
Griner said she is unsure whether more adults squeezed by the tight economy are using the program, but in a few days there should be numbers available to determine whether that is the case.
During the time it is in operation, the program employs about 25 to 30 cafeteria, delivery and supervisory personnel, she said.
The more than 40,000 meals fed in Colquitt County in summer 2008 included those served to walk-ins, summer school students and teachers and administrators, Griner said.
"It looks like numbers are going to be up all the way across this year," she said.
The hours of operation of the summer food program are 8 a.m.-9 a.m. for breakfast and noon-1 p.m. for lunch.
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