The Jefferson City School District's Mission Nutrition program will continue through July - with some changes.
JC Schools is offering breakfast and lunch to students ages 2-18 on Mondays and Thursdays through July 30. Three days of breakfast and lunch will be provided on Mondays, and two days of breakfast and lunch will be provided on Thursdays along with buddy packs, which include two ready-to-eat entrees, cereal with shelf-stable milk, a fruit cup and a nutritional bar.
"We have consistently served between 550-650 students per day through the month of June, and so we felt the continuation of the program would continue to be beneficial to those who need it," Communications Director Ryan Burns said.
Students can pick up "Grab 'N Go" meals 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. every Monday and Thursday at five school locations: North, Pioneer Trail and South elementary schools, and Lewis and Clark and Thomas Jefferson middle schools.
Bus drivers will deliver meals to stops across the district at designated times between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Families can pick up meals at any of the bus stops listed on the district's website at jcschools.com.
As of Tuesday, a total of 64,827 meals have been picked up at school buildings and delivered at bus stops since the program began March 30: 15,050 at TJMS; 14,795 at North; 8,181 at South; 8,158 at Pioneer Trail; 7,365 at LCMS; 6,676 at East; 2,248 at Thorpe Gordon; and 2,354 at West.
The number of meals served per day was more than 1,000 for most of April and May and below 700 in June, Burns said.
In June, Thorpe Gordon and West elementary schools were moved to the bus stop list for meal deliveries, instead of the building location list, and East was removed from the list because there was a decrease in the number of families going to these sites, Burns said.
A few more bus stops in Callaway County were added in June based on feedback from families, Burns said. The district partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Jefferson City in April to provide dinners to families, which ended in June because the number of students receiving meals decreased.
"We looked for ways to consolidate our efforts while still providing meals for those who need them," Burns said.
For more information about Mission Nutrition and to view the bus stops and times, visit the JC Schools Mission Nutrition page at jcschools.us.