Children 18 and under in the Jackson area can eat breakfast and lunch for free until July 12 thanks to the Jackson Public Schools’ Summer Feeding Program.

This is JPS’ 33rd year of hosting the program, which started on June 3. 

Twelve JPS sites are offering the program. Serving times are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch.

In an interview at Blackburn Middle School on June 10, JPS Executive Director of Child Nutrition Marc Rowe said the program is made possible through funding from the USDA.

“Nutrition is very important,” Rowe said. “In an urban school district like ours, there are food deserts throughout the city. So to provide breakfast and lunch during the summertime when students will be attending summer camps and summer schools, it’s very important.”

“In an urban school district like ours, there are food deserts throughout the city. So to provide breakfast and lunch during the summertime when students will be attending summer camps and summer schools, it’s very important,” JPS Executive Director of Child Nutrition Marc Rowe said on June 10, 2024. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad

The meals are free but children must eat on-site, Rowe said.

The program will be closed for the Juneteenth break on June 17 and also the week of the Fourth of July holiday, July 1 through July 5, the JPS website states.

‘It’s Hard for a Lot of Kids to Get Meals’

The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life, a Feeding America report explains. 

Food insecurity is associated with numerous adverse social and health outcomes and is increasingly considered a critical public-health issue. Key drivers of food insecurity include unemployment, poverty and income shocks, which can prevent adequate access to food, the report continues.

For children, food insecurity has been associated with negative health, social, and academic outcomes, the USDA reported in 2017. “USDA school meal programs and other child nutrition programs are intended to improve food security,” the report said. “They do so both by augmenting overall household resources and by providing children with a regular source of nutritious meals.”

A cafeteria worker hands a plate of food to a child at Blackburn Middle School in Jackson, Miss., on June 10, 2024. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad

For nearly three years, Essence Pulliam has put on a hair net, pulled on gloves and served meals to Jackson Public School students.

She takes pride in her work. “I love it. It’s a good feeling,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on June 10. 

“It’s hard for a lot of kids to get meals, even during (the school year), so to be able to do this during the summer, it’s very important,” she continued.

Although Pulliam said she doesn’t often get to interact with parents, she knows that the work she does offers a respite for caregivers.

“I think parents are grateful to be able to bring their kids,” she continued. “Maybe they need a break from cooking at home or want to be able to get their kids out of the house. I think they enjoy it just as much as the kids do.”

For nearly three years Essence Pulliam has served breakfast and lunch for the Jackson Public Schools Summer Feeding Program. “It’s hard for a lot of kids to get meals, even during (the school year), so to be able to do this during the summer, it’s very important,” she said. Photo by Shaunicy Muhammad

The following locations are Summer Feeding Program sites:

  • Bates Elementary School (3180 McDowell Road Ext.)
  • Blackburn Middle School (1311 W. Pearl St.)
  • Boyd Elementary School (4521 Broadmeadow Drive)
  • Cardozo Middle School (3180 McDowell Road Ext.)
  • Clausell Elementary School (330 Harley St.)
  • Galloway Elementary School (186 Idlewild St.)
  • Key Elementary School (699 W. McDowell Road)
  • Kirksey Middle School (5677 Highland Drive)
  • McLeod Elementary School, (1616 Sandalwood Place)
  • Provine High School (2400 Robinson St.)
  • Spann Elementary School (1615 Brecon Drive)
  • Wilkins Elementary School (1970 Castle Hill Drive)

City of Jackson Offering Free Lunches Until July 12

The City of Jackson is also offering on-site meals for children 18 and under, they announced on June 10. The City’s Jackson Meals Matter coalition will serve meals from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until July 12.

“Jackson Meals Matter is a city-wide anti-hunger awareness campaign that ensures every child in the City of Jackson has access to food,” the press release states. “JMM has also formed a task force of food insecurity and anti-hunger experts to confront and solve hunger issues in Jackson.”

The meals are to be eaten on-site and are available at the following locations:

  • Smith Robertson Community Center (505 John Hart St.)
  • Sykes Park Community Center (520 Sykes Road)
  • Westside Community Center (1450 Wiggins Road)

➡️ Read more stories from the Capital City Bureau here.

Capital City reporter Shaunicy Muhammad covers a variety of issues affecting Jackson residents, with a particular focus on causes, effects and solutions for systemic inequities in South Jackson neighborhoods, supported by a grant from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. She grew up in Mobile, Alabama where she attended John L. LeFlore High School and studied journalism at Spring Hill College. She has an enduring interest in Africana studies and enjoys photography, music and tennis.