two children sitting beside dining table
In total, 434,535 breakfasts and 545,615 lunches have been served through the summer program, for a total of 980,150 meals. Photo: Annie Spratt

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Summer Food Service program for kids, offered through the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), served nearly one million meals to Wyoming children and teens in 2021.

“We are proud to have been able to keep thousands of Wyoming youth fed from border to border this summer,” said Tamra Jackson, Child Nutrition Programs State Director with the WDE. “We are so thankful for the people who are on the front lines of this program: the people who deliver the breakfasts and lunches to our youth.”

In total, 434,535 breakfasts and 545,615 lunches have been served through the summer program, for a total of 980,150 meals.

Youth do not have to register or call ahead to receive meals and no questions are asked regarding eligibility for the program.

“Our goal is to get the food to youth who need it, not to concern ourselves with each families’ specific situation,” said Jackson.

The Summer Food Service Program is a federally funded, state-administered program. The program reimburses providers who serve free healthy meals to children and teens during the summer months when school is not in session. This video from the Department of Agriculture does a good job of explaining the program. In addition to serving food, summer food sites often include activities for students to do during the summer including crafts and games

She's a lover of alliteration, easy-to-follow recipes and board games when everyone knows the rules. Her favorite aspect about living in the Tetons is the collective admiration that Wyomingites share for the land and the life that it sustains.