As school lets out for the summer break, most San Antonio school districts will participate in the federally funded Summer Meals program.
Across the state, 16.9% of Texans, or 1 in 6 households, are food insecure — the second highest rate in the nation according to Feeding Texas, a statewide network of food banks. And children in the San Antonio area are disproportionately affected.
In Bexar County, 1 in 4 children don’t know where their next meal will come from, and 35% of those who use the city’s food bank are children.
Often relying on school nutrition programs, food insecurity swells for several families with students who qualify for free and reduced lunch during the summer months.
But several school districts and charter schools, along with local nonprofits like San Antonio Food Bank, are participating in Summer Meals, a summer nutrition program offered from May 29 through the last week of July.
“It’s a collaborative effort between lots of different partner agencies,” said Sharon Glosson, the executive director of school nutrition at North East Independent School District.
To be eligible for a summer meal, participants must be 18 and under or a student enrolled in a special education program who is 21 and under.
Age, Glosson stressed, is the only qualifier for the summer food program. Participating children do not need to attend a school within the district, but are required to eat their meals on site.
“They could be visiting San Antonio and not even live locally. They could, you know, attend any school or even home school. As long as they’re 18 and under, they qualify to participate,” Glosson said.
North East ISD recently released a full list of locations offering summer meals with dates and times.
Summer food programs also benefit families with students enrolled in summer classes. The district is also partnering with neighboring public libraries and community centers to offer summer meals.
Glosson said Summer Meals participants will be offered the types of food that kids are known to enjoy.
“We’re going to have pizza and hamburgers, but we’re also going to be having macaroni and cheese, or we’re going to have nachos or tacos,” Glosson said. “They’re not going to see anything in the summer that we don’t routinely serve during the school year.”
Funds for its summer food program come from NEISD’s general school lunch budget, $45 million, 90% of which is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Currently, the USDA is facing major budget cuts and layoffs as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash spending.
In March, USDA ended Local Foods for Schools, a pandemic-era program that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to buy food from local farmers.
In response to the March cuts, Texas Department of Agriculture Sid Miller said the cuts are “intended to eliminate fraud, abuse and waste.”
“These changes can also provide an opportunity for states to assume greater responsibility in shaping their own programs. Texas and the Texas Department of Agriculture do not depend on this funding to maintain a strong program,” Miller said in a statement. “Texas will continue to effectively operate successful Farm to School and Farm to Food Bank programs.”
Prior to the USDA Local Foods for Schools Grant, Miller said Texas spent over $257.8 million by schools on local foods.
More broadly, USDA is proposing multi-billion dollar cuts to SNAP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, putting more limits on who can use the program and requiring states to pay anywhere from 5% to 25% of SNAP benefit amounts and increase the state share of administrative costs from 50% to 75%.
CEO of San Antonio Food Bank Eric Cooper said he appreciates the efforts of balancing a budget, but hopes lawmakers value the importance of a balanced meal.
“SNAP helps to balance meals in households where children are hungry or a senior is needing to take their medicine with a meal,” Cooper said in a May 13 statement.
At NEISD, district officials expect to serve 90,000 meals during the summer.
“The summer food program is funded the same way that the regular school year program is funded, and that is almost completely through federal funding,” Glosson said.
While the regular school year lunch program receives some local dollars, the summer program offered by NEISD is funded solely by the federal government.
“During the summer, we know that many children in San Antonio lose access to school meals”, Glosson said. “Offering a school or offering a Summer Meal Program helps ensure that children at risk of food insecurity continue to have access to nutritious meals to help them grow and be ready to learn when they return to school in August.”
Interested families can call 211, text FOODTX to 877-77 or visit summerfood.org to find a nearby meal site and hours of operation.
