The application for a state program called Meals to You is newly available in the Chilkat Valley and closes soon.
Both Chatham and Haines Borough School District students are among the 31 school districts eligible to enroll in the program this year. Families will receive weekly meal boxes with shelf-stable, kid-friendly foods designed to support children when school cafeterias are closed.
Meals to You is one of two summer school lunch programs set to operate in the area this year, the other is the federally funded Summer Food Service Program. That program is sponsored through schools or other organizations which get reimbursed for the number of meals they serve to eligible children each year.
The programs are similar enough that Food Bank of Alaska Children Nutrition Coordinator Enrique Ramirez said they often try to avoid overlapping in the same community as families are not allowed to receive doubles of meals through the programs and it can be difficult to keep track.
“Haines did a really good job last year, so we went ahead,” he said.
The programs are not identical, however, so families receiving Meals to You meals for five days a week can still get Summer Food Service Program meals which are meant to supplement seven days a week.
Ramirez said Summer Food Service Program meals can be picked up locally while Meals to You meals will be mailed. The Meals to You boxes contain food that can be eaten cold or without further preparation.
Ramirez said in other sites they’ve had families pick up the boxes and take them to fish camps, so they’re designed to come in handy in places that don’t have full kitchen setups.
“It’s like mac and cheese,” he said. “Packaged chicken would be another one, like barbecue chicken that comes with a veggie cup. It’s easier for kids to just grab it, open it up and eat it.”
Ramirez did not have data on the usage of the Meals to You program in the Chilkat Valley, so it’s not clear how many families have utilized the program. But statewide 430,000 meals were served to 41,000 students in 11 rural communities, according to the state.
Last year, the local Summer Food Service Program sent out 1,798 meals at a cost of $5,634.93 according to the Four Winds Resource Center’s end-of-year report.
Broken out monthly, the site peaked in July with 1,241 meals going out with June at 145 and August at 412, though Food Bank of Alaska child nutrition coordinator Enrique Ramirez said June meals were lower because of a delayed shipment from Tacoma.
“In July, they were able to provide service for the whole month,” he wrote. “This site was also one of only a handful of sites that served 100% of the meals they received last summer.”
Both programs are targeted at rural school districts. Ramirez said this is the first year the Meals to You program is working with the Chatham School District. He said some families may find that when they register for the program, they have to fill out extra income eligibility information.
Applications for the Meals to You program can be found at the Food Bank of Alaska website and questions can be directed to [email protected] or call 907-308-7601.