Free daily summer breakfast and lunch served at SeDoMoCha School

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Any child 18 and under can enjoy free breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday at the SeDoMoCha School, 63 Harrison Avenue, through mid-August. Breakfast will be from 8 to 9 a.m. and lunch runs from 11 a.m. to noon, with all meals to be eaten on-site. There are no eligibility requirements to attend, such as income restrictions or place of residence.

“Unfortunately many families within our school community can’t afford to buy food regularly,” said RSU 68 Food Service Director Heather Whitten prior to the summer meal kickoff celebration on Monday, June 24. She said when school is not in session, these students lose access to two regular weekday meals.

“Kids need good nutrition to grow and thrive so we feel the summer food program is very important,” Whitten said. “It gives any child 18 and under access to a free breakfast and/or lunch, helping to overcome their food insecurities.”

The program began the week after classes concluded on Friday, June 14 and it will run through Friday, Aug. 16.

“We are not here the Fourth of July or the day after the Fourth of July but other than that we are every Monday through Friday, breakfast is from 8 to 9 and lunch is from 11 to 12,” Whitten, who is in her sixth year of heading the long-running program, said.

Summer breakfast is sponsored by RSU 68 Food Service and is part of the summer food program through the Maine Department of Child Nutrition.

“We have some of the kids’ favorites, we have chicken burgers and chicken nuggets,” Whitten said. “We’ll have shepherd’s pie. Last week we did some Chinese food so we did some General Tso’s chicken and we did some brown rice with steamed broccoli and then of course every Thursday is pizza day whether it’s homemade pizza or pizza sticks. So we alternate that and that’s always the kids’ favorite.”

The month’s breakfast and lunch menus are posted at https://sedomocha.org/departments/food-service/.

“Last week we averaged roughly around 80 students for breakfast and lunch,” Whitten said about the first week of meals. She mentioned participants in an annual soccer camp could come in and eat so parents did not have to pack meals.

Summer school at SeDoMoCha began on June 24 with these students having meal time as part of their day, but Whitten reiterated the program is open to any child. “They can be traveling through Dover and see the sign and come in and kids can eat for free,” she said.

“So today is our summer lunch kickoff so we like to usually have a fun little celebration just to let people know what we are doing and just have fun and let the kids know what we are,” Whitten said, wearing a straw cowboy hat to tie in to the rodeo motif as were many of the summer school staff.

She said some very young cows, a larger bovine, and a goat from Alfaslopes Farms of Charleston were outside to pet, children could draw with chalk on the asphalt, blow bubbles, hula hoop, climb on the playground, and more. 

The Maine Department of Education, in conjunction with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Agriculture, introduced a new summer food service program option for Maine students on the day of the kickoff.

Hot Lunch Summer, the Maine DOE’s summer food service program, provides qualified children up to age 18 with nutritious meals all summer. Students and their families now have three options for receiving meals over the summer: summer meals, non-congregate, and the new SUN Bucks, 

Announced last month by the Maine DHHS’ Office for Family Independence, SUN Bucks are a one-time $120 payment on an Electronic Benefits Transfer Card that will help families with eligible participants to purchase food over the summer. This new option is intended to be a significant step toward making the summer food service program more accessible to Maine’s rural student population. 

Many schools across Maine are taking part in summer meal programs, and more information is available at www.hotlunchsummer.com.