This year, the Alachua County Summer Meals Program will host mobile locations for the first time.
With three mobile sites, the program will offer children free hot meals right outside some of their apartment complexes.
The sites are being tested in high-need areas, said Caron Rowe, the food service specialist for the Alachua County School Board Food and Nutrition Services.
The program aims to feed children while they aren’t in school. Children 18 years old and under are eligible to receive free breakfast or lunch, and they do not need to provide any identification to qualify for the meals, Rowe said.
The program currently has 61 locations, including schools and mobile sites, for children to receive free meals.
Rowe said a renovated bus will serve the mobile locations. The bus will also play music and offer activities, such as hula-hoops and books.
The mobile locations will be at Linton Oaks, Tower Oaks Glen and Hidden Oaks apartments, according to the school board’s website.
“We know that there’s a lot of kids in need in that area,” Rowe said. “Our primary focus is making sure that we are addressing kids that could go hungry over the summer months.”
