Free Food Offered at 2 Dozen Manatee County Schools

BRADENTON, FL — Students at 24 different Manatee County schools will receive breakfast and lunches at no charge this school year.

Manatee County Schools on Tuesday announced its full lineup of campuses that qualify for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s community eligibility program. Children who attend these schools receive free meals at breakfast and lunchtime, regardless of parent income.

The schools included in the federally funded program for the 2016-17 school year are:

• Abel Elementary
• Ballard Elementary
• Bayshore Elementary
• Bayshore High
• Blackburn Elementary
• Daughtrey Elementary
• Harllee Middle
• Horizons Academy
• Just for Girls
• Lee Middle
• Lincoln Middle
• Manatee Elementary
• Moody Elementary
• Oasis Middle
• Oneco Elementary
• Palm View Elementary
• Palmetto Elementary
• Prine Elementary
• Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary
• Samoset Elementary
• Sea Breeze Elementary
• Sugg Middle
• Tillman Elementary
• Visible Men Academy

The community eligibility program is one of the USDA’s child nutrition programs. Funding for the program comes from meal reimbursements that are received by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the school district wrote in an email to media.

“Manatee County School District general funds are not used for this program,” the email stressed.

The USDA explains the program is part of the 2010 Hunger-Free Kids Act. The program enables schools with high poverty rates to provide free food while eliminating the need for collecting individual household applications, according to the USDA website. To find out more, visit the federal agency online.

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