Did you know that all children ages 18 and under, regardless of their family income, are eligible for free lunches and breakfasts through most of the summer?
Here are all the Addison County locations serving free meals to kids this summer:
Ferrisburgh Central School hosts a drop-in meal site from June 24-Aug. 2. Lunch is provided at the site Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon.
In Bristol, kids can eat breakfast (8-9 a.m.) and lunch (11 a.m. to noon), Mondays through Fridays at Bristol Elementary School, or lunch (noon to 1 p.m.) at The Hub Teen Center. The Lawrence Memorial Library serves lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 to noon, and a snack from 1-1:30 p.m.
Bridport Central School will distribute meals through Aug. 16. Individuals can pick up lunch for the day and breakfast for the following day Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-noon in the school lobby.
In Middlebury through August 16, folks can pick up breakfasts and lunches to go from Mary Hogan School or Middlebury Union Middle School, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
In Vergennes, families can pick up kid breakfasts (8-8:30 a.m.) and lunches (noon-12:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday from July 8 through Aug. 9 at Vergennes Union High School.
Free summer meal kits — breakfast and lunch for a week — are available for pickup at the New Haven Community Library on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m., and at Robinson Elementary School in Starksboro on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This service is available June 26 through August 8.
“Those meal kits are for children 18 and under and they are groceries; a bag of groceries that would make up seven days’ worth of breakfast and lunch for one child,” Kathy Alexander, food service director for the Mount Abraham and Addison Northwest school districts, explained to the Addison Independent recently.
A full list of summer meal sites can be found on the nonprofit Hunger Free Vermont’s website here. That list will be updated as sites become approved and begin serving meals. All sites included on the list are free for children age 18 and younger, regardless of the town they reside in.