Texas Offers Free Summer Meals for Kids

SAN ANGELO, TX – Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today announced that after school cafeterias close for summer, families can access meals served by schools, churches, city governments, and other nonprofits in partnership with the Texas Department of Agriculture. 

Families can find nearby sites serving these no-cost meals starting on or around June 1. TDA administers the Summer Meal Programs in Texas for children 18 and younger and enrolled students with disabilities up to age 21 in low-income areas.

“I’m proud to partner with these organizations, and I encourage all Texans to support their efforts by telling families about the Summer Meal Programs and how to find a meal site convenient for them,” Commissioner Miller said. “Texas children should look forward to summer with excitement for the free time to spend with friends and family, rather than facing uncertainty about having enough food to eat. Working together, we can ensure more children have the nutrition they need this summer.”

Commissioner Miller encourages Texas families to use one of the following two ways to find a nearby meal site:

• Visit www.summerfood.org to access an interactive meal site map.
• Call 2-1-1 to speak to a live operator in English or Spanish.

In addition to locating a site, it’s important to use these tools to confirm dates and times and gather more information about meal services. 

Some locations in rural areas will distribute multi-day meal bundles for families who have trouble attending a site daily. 

Utilizing these site-finding tools will provide families in remote and underserved areas with information about nearby sites that offer these accommodations. 

Note that participants cannot receive meals from multiple sites on the same day.

TDA partners serve meals at sites in designated areas, such as areas where more than 50 percent of children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs, according to the TDA. 

Meals are provided for free to any eligible participant without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. 

According to the TDA, eligible participants are children 18 years old or younger, or adults 19 years of age and over, who are determined by a state or local educational agency to have a mental or physical disability and are enrolled in a public or private school program established for people with mental or physical disabilities.

For more information about TDA’s Summer Meal Programs, visit www.SummerFood.org or call TDA’s Food and Nutrition Division at (877) TEX-MEAL or (877) 839-6325.