Most meal programs at local schools will continue through the summer for children ages 18 and younger.

Food service directors in Lewiston, Auburn, Jay, Farmington, Dixfield and RSU 10 (the Rumford and Buckfield areas) will offer meals at no cost.

The Oxford Hills School District will not participate because the high school refrigeration system is being overhauled. The kitchen will not be available until mid-August, SAD 17 Food Service Director Jodi Truman said.

However, meal assistance for Oxford Hills students will be administered by the Progress Center in Norway.

Meals to take home will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis at sites in Norway, Paris and Oxford beginning June 15.

In Lewiston, the nutrition and transportation departments will work together to provide meals, Nutrition and Transportation Director Alisa Roman said.

“This will include working with Hudson Bus Lines to continue the van service to areas around the city,” Roman said.

She said Lewiston Public Schools also will work with community partners to offer meal pickups at Farwell, McMahon, Montello and Connors elementary schools, The Root Cellar, the Somali Bantu Community Room and Maine Immigrant Services.

Breakfast and lunch will be served together between 10 a.m. and noon. Coronavirus protocols such as face coverings and gloves will continue to be followed, Roman said.

She said nutrition staff, volunteers and Hudson Bus Lines have worked together to serve about 309,000 meals since March 16 when schools were closed to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

More help is needed for the summer program, she said.

“We are actively working to have volunteers assist with meal distribution,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture through its Summer Food Service Program will reimburse agencies, including schools, camps and faith-based groups, for food, labor and transportation costs.

Families that qualify can also get up to $365 per child to spend on groceries through a new program called Pandemic EBT. You can apply by calling 1-855-797-4357 by June 19. If you already receive SNAP or TANF, you do not need to apply. Children in the P-EBT program can still participate in summer meal pickups.

The USDA announced Wednesday that it had issued a nationwide waiver that allows all children to receive free meals through Aug. 31.

The waiver affects “area eligibility,” which had limited free meals to low-income areas, according to a news release.

The Auburn School Department transitioned to its summer feeding program Monday, June 8, and will continue through Aug. 30, Nutrition Director Chris Piercey said.

“We are combining the meal pickup sites with how we traditionally provide meals in the summer at the YMCA, the (Recreation Department) and day cares,” he said. Two days’ worth of breakfast and lunch are provided with each pickup.

Pickups will continue at Park Avenue, Sherwood Heights, Walton and Washburn elementary schools from 11 a.m. to noon.

The Boys and Girls Club will begin offering take-home meals from noon to 1 p.m. on June 15, Piercey said.

“Our plan is to remain flexible and continuously evaluate the needs of the community and make any necessary adjustments throughout the summer,” he said.

He said the Auburn School Department served 82,000 meals from mid-March to June 5.

In the Mt. Blue School District, which includes 10 towns in the Farmington area, free breakfasts and lunches will be offered at four sites through Aug. 7, Food Service Director Andrew Hutchins said.

The USDA will reimburse the district for staffing and food costs, but packaging has been “tricky to get and expensive,” now that so many restaurants are primarily serving takeout, Hutchins said.

He said donations would be accepted to offset the unanticipated cost of packaging.

The district served 75,000 meals from mid-March to the end of the school year and expects to serve 26,000 over the summer, Hutchins said.

“A couple of great things about us being able to do these summer meals is obviously, we can get these meals out to children who might not otherwise get a nutritious meal during the summertime,” he said. “And it keeps people working who really count on that summer employment.”

RSU 10, comprising the towns of Rumford, Mexico, Roxbury, Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner, also is prepared to participate in the USDA program, Nutrition Director Jeanne Lapointe said.

Deliveries will be made Monday and Thursday, June 15 through Aug. 20, and provide each child with three days’ worth of meals, Lapointe said. Children do not have to be enrolled in RSU 10 to participate.

Nutrition staff have delivered an average of 700 meals daily, Lapointe said.

“They are proud of their contribution as essential employees and the food they provided for their students,” she said.

She said a “dedicated group of volunteers” would continue to help with the meal program through the summer.

“These connections to our communities are invaluable as we move through this pandemic,” she said. “Children in the community are excited to see the colorful nutrition van coming down their street with their meals.”

Take-home meals will be offered in the Spruce Mountain School District, comprising Jay, Livermore Falls and Livermore, Monday through Thursday through July 2, Food Service Director Laura Lorette said.

She said she would continue to assess the needs of the community and the district’s finances every couple of weeks. She hopes to extend the program, but even with the USDA reimbursement, the district has to hire more people to staff the program.

The Spruce Mountain district has served breakfast and lunch to about 350 students per day since school buildings were closed, Lorette said.

She said the district has received some money from Full Plates Full Potential, a nonprofit group helping to end childhood hunger in Maine. The Maine Dairy and Nutrition Council has provided coolers, she said.

She said she has learned a lot during the pandemic.

“As a department, the teamwork and coordination needed has made us a stronger group,” she said. “I have no doubt there are very positive things that will come out of this.”

RSU 56, including the towns of Dixfield, Canton, Carthage and Peru, will close its meal program for a few weeks in July and reopen at Dixfield Elementary School on Monday through Thursday from July 27 to Aug. 20, Nutrition Director Gena Cloutier said.

Meals also will be offered at the middle school Tuesday through Thursday on Aug. 4 to Aug. 20, she said, adding that notices would be sent out with information about the sites and where to find local food banks.

Funding for the summer meals will come from the USDA and grants from Full Plates Full Potential.

“We have been able to use these grants to help offset some of the costs associated in the packaging of meals, such as microwavable containers, paper and plastic bags, disposable bowls,” Cloutier said.

She said the RSU has sent out 70,000 meals and helped an average of 180 families feed their children since schools closed March 16.

“Our families and community have reached out time and time again to let us know how appreciative they are of all of the help,” she said.

Sun Media Group reporters Marianne Hutchinson, Nicole Carter, Pam Harnden and Andrea Swiedom contributed to this report.

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