GREENFIELD — During the summer, from June 12 through July 7, children 18 and younger can eat a free, nutritious breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday, at Vista Verde and Cesar Chavez schools in Greenfield.
Breakfast at Vista Verde and Cesar Chavez is from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Lunch at Vista Verde is from 11 to 11:30 a.m.; at Cesar Chavez it is from 12 to 12:30 p.m.
Rafael Juarez, nutrition services manager for the Greenfield Union School District, said that districts participating in the National School Lunch Program are “highly encouraged, not obligated, by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson to extend the free summer feeding program to the community.”
The free meals must contain five components: dairy, fruit, vegetables, protein and grain. The children need to take at least three of the five, one being a fruit or a vegetable.
Juarez said the children are monitored to ensure that his department complies with state and federal regulations. His department receives federal and state reimbursements at $3 per meal served, which cover food and staff costs.
“The department is self-sustaining,” he said, adding that it is separate from the district’s general fund.
Araceli Sifuentes, five-year Food Service employee at Cesar Chavez, likes to see the children “make healthy choices.”
Sifuentes said, “Melon and jicama (yam bean) and the different choices for salads” are what the children like best. Sifuentes has learned to cut fruit, serve appropriate food portions and sanitize dishes.
“I include more vegetables at home now,” she said.
Combined participant totals for Vista Verde and Cesar Chavez typically range between 30 and 50 youth.
Younger children, 8 to 11 years old, are more likely to stop by the schools to eat. According to Juarez, older children might be embarrassed to have their peers find out that they eat for free.
Juarez also speculates that the number of participants is not as high as it could be “because parents might find it more difficult to take the children to the schools during the summer, and the children might not be allowed to walk alone.”
Juarez believes there is “room for improvement” and would like to see more parents have their children participate.
“I am very proud and excited because our services are extended,” he said, and that he would like to “encourage the community to bring in their children.”
