Seguin ISD hosting annual program for all area children

Jakob Moreno KWED/SDN intern

(Seguin) — The Seguin ISD is making sure no child goes hungry while school is out.

With breakfast and lunch served at locations like Seguin High School, Park West, and the Irma Lewis Outdoor Learning Center, this year’s free summer meal program is not only offering a hot meal but a cool place to spend some time.

Over the summer, the Seguin ISD will continue to provide free meals for children ages 1 to 18 through its Summer Food Program being hosted across several school and park locations. The breakfast and lunch meals are designed for all families. Families do not have to be in need and no paperwork or sign-ups are required.

The participating locations hosting the summer meal program include Park West, the Irma Lewis Outdoor Learning Center, Seguin High School A.J.B., McQueeney and Vogel Elementary Schools.

Jacob Galvan, Seguin ISD director of child nutrition, says this free program is to ensure kids have a balanced meal and that they receive the energy to expend while keeping busy and having fun.

“After school is over, you don’t always know where the next meal is going to come for a lot of the kids. So, having this location where it’s free, it’s easy to access for all of the community. It’s also open to anybody from ages 1 to 18 years old. They can come and have a free meal here, whether they’re from Seguin, Navarro, San Antonio,” said Galvan “Also having the amenities here at the park is an incredible opportunity to let parents have a fun place to come, bring their child, have a meal, have something fun for them to do to get them busy, and then have them come back here Monday through Thursday throughout the whole week.”

Ariann Canales, Seguin ISD’s dietitian and marketing specialist, says it is not only important for the kids to have a balanced diet, but it is also her job to ensure that the food is tasty and enjoyable.

“When creating a meal, I take in consideration what the kids like, but also giving them a variety of different tastes, palates, and even things like color and textures are all important when building a menu,” said Canales.

Just to give a taste of the menu, the meal for Tuesday was a hot dog, tater tots, an orange, and a cold carton of milk. Of course, the meals vary from location, but district officials add that at Park West, grilling hot dogs and hamburgers is made easy.

While the perception of the school lunch might have wavered in the last decade, both Canales and Galvan believe they serve up some quality foods – foods that have folks returning all summer long.

That’s because Canales says she works to continue to put popular items on the menu while finding new ways to give the kids something that lets them vary their palates.

“Kids’ favorite meals like chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are all still good things to keep on the menu,” said Canales. “I think that’s something that I kind of want to emphasize to the kids that there are those meals, like chicken nuggets and mac and cheese (and they) aren’t bad, but we bulk our menu with things like steamed broccoli and other fruits that (we know) they would like.”

Along with serving breakfast and lunch meals, the duo says staff also enjoy walking around the park or school cafeterias, checking in with the kids and adults to ensure the meals were enjoyable. They say they are also seeking additional feedback as the year progresses and have shared the menu online at Seguin ISD for everyone to view the days and times the food will be available at the various locations.

They especially encourage that before families head out to one of the serving locations — that they do check the Seguin ISD Facebook page for that day’s menu and mealtimes – because again, each vary at the respective locations.

District officials say schools such as McQueeney and Vogel Elementary also participate in the program by providing Non-congregate Grab & Go Meal Bundles. They say these have especially been important for those families who can’t find their way to these meals on a daily basis. The meal bundles provide food to families one week at a time. The children are asked to be in the vehicle during pickup.

Now although kids eat free. Adults are also welcome to grab food for a nominal cost. The prices include $3.50 for breakfast and $5 for lunch.

The free Seguin ISD summer meal program runs through Aug. 1.