BOCES to participate in Summer Food Service Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicks off its 2024 Summer Food Service Program this month to provide free meals to area kids. This week, Orange-Ulster BOCES announced its participation in the program.

According to the USDA, the program was established to ensure that low-income children 18 and younger receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service administers the Summer Food Service Program at the national level and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) administers it at the state level. Locally, it is operated by sponsors who apply for and are approved to operate the program.

Orange-Ulster BOCES will be providing free breakfast and lunch for kids now through August 18 at two locations:

- The BOCES Amy Bull Crist campus at 53 Gibson Road, Goshen, will serve breakfast from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. and lunch from 10:35 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., Monday through Friday.

- The Regional Education Center at Arden Hill, located at 4 Harriman Drive, Goshen, will serve breakfast from 8:15 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 10:35 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday through Friday.

NYSED Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “Children need nutritious meals to grow and thrive physically, emotionally, and academically. We have a moral obligation to ensure that every child in need has easy and regular access to the kinds of healthy meals that will sustain, power, and energize them all summer long – and New York’s Summer Food Service Program will make that possible across the entire state.”

The USDA provides an interactive map updated each Friday with local locations where kids can get free meals during the summer. For more information on other Summer Food Service Program distribution locations, visit the USDA’s map at fns.usda.gov/summer/sitefinder.