SCDE seeking partners for summer food programs

WEST COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Summer vacation is more than three months away, but the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) is already working to make sure students have access to healthy meals when school gets out later this year.

Coordinator for Student Nutrition Services Shana Catoe leads School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties’ Summer Food Services Program. She wants to help students learn to eat healthy.

“Habits start as a child. If they eat well as little people, they will eat well as adults,” said Catoe.

Catoe works closely with Joanne Minder of the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE). SCDE administers the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded program, partnering with nonprofit organizations serving as sponsor for the Summer Break Café Program or school districts for the Seamless Summer Option Program. Both programs provide healthy meals to students (18 and younger) who need them, when school is out for the summer.

“If they do not get the meals they need year round, particularly during the summer, that can cause a problem, a learning gap,” added Minder.

According to SCDE, students in more than half of the state’s school districts benefit from the programs, which served 5.4 million meals last summer.

Typically, sponsors offer two meals a day with the number of days a week varying by sponsor.

The goal is to build a better future for students and families, while setting the table for lifelong learning.

SCDE is looking for more sponsors to serve as meal sites. Sponsors must be approved by SCDE, demonstrating they have the finances and resources to operate a food services program. Once in operation, sponsors submit monthly claims for reimbursement based on the number of meals they serve.