Free Meals Available To FL Children While School Is Out This Summer

FLORIDA — Many Florida public schools, organizations and community centers have partnered with Summer BreakSpot to provide nutritionally balanced meals to children and teens during summer break.

All children, 18 years old or younger, can receive free breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner during summer break at over 4,000 supervised locations in the Sunshine State, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“One of the most important missions of our department is providing access for all of Florida’s kids to healthy, nutritious meals regardless of family income,” Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news release.

“Florida is home to one million children facing food insecurity, worsened by the pandemic. For many, Summer BreakSpot meals are the only meals on which they can rely. I encourage all Florida families facing food insecurity while school’s out to find a Summer BreakSpot location near you – by phone, text, or online," she added.

There are several ways to find a Summer BreakSpot site:

• Dial 2-1-1
• Text “Food” to 304-304
• Visit https://www.summerbreakspot.org/

Summer BreakSpot sites include open sites and camps (residential and non-residential). Open sites are sites where meals are available to all children in the area on a first-come, first-served basis.

Acceptance and participation requirements for the program are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Summer BreakSpot is part of the National Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded program operated by the USDA.