By Bill Zeeble
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-718911.mp3
Dallas, TX – At the corner of Romine and Latimer in South Dallas, six, seven and eight year olds shoot baskets in the Park South YMCA's indoor court. They're working up an appetite. In a minute, they line up single file &, led by a counselor, chant their lunch line song.
LUNCH LINE song: y-m-c-a where we at? Summer camp! y-m-c-a where we at? Summer camp! y-m-c-a where we at? Summer camp! y-m-c-a where we at? Summer camp
Sandra Crowley's handing out lunch boxes.
Sandra Crowley, DISD worker: Well we have ham and cheese, pineapple and chips, they like that, juice and milk.
This summer here at the Y and at a hundred-34 other Dallas sites, the DISD will serve breakfast and lunch to neighborhood children. Many come from low income families and qualify for free meals at school when it's in session. This ensures children will keep getting nutritious food when school's out. The district buys, distributes, & packages the meals, paid for by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Veronica Obregon is with the Texas Department of Agriculture, which administers this program. She says demand across the state has never been higher.
Veronica Obregon, Texas Department of Agriculture: We're seeing more families needing assistance and more of a need to help lower income families. And more families becoming that lower income level where they're needing assistance. 1020. Now with high food and gas prices we're even seeing some middle income 1035 families relying on these type of services.
An energetic Asha Ross, hair in braids, likes her lunch and afternoon snack.
Asha Ross: Yesterday I had nachos and apples and carrots.
Apples are the 7 year old's favorite.
Ross: They're sweet, juicy and they taste good.
The DISD expects to serve at least 800 thousand meals this summer. The smaller Fort Worth ISD will serve more than 30 thousand. That's just a fraction of the 17 million meals likely be distributed to children across the state this summer. But Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples says there could be more. That's because many districts offer the free meals until summer school closes about mid July. Many start again a month later when the fall season begins.
Todd staples, Texas Agriculture Commissioner: There's an enormous gap. There's a huge need. Just because school's out for the summer doesn't mean hunger takes a vacation.
Staples wants to close that gap, and encourages school districts that end their food program early, to consider extending the free meals rite up until school starts again August 25th.
Staples: The need is there. The funding is there. USDA provides a great level of funding. There's no reason for child no to have healthy lunch and resources are there and we need to take advantage of them.
The state Department of Agriculture expects demand will be higher than last year all across Texas.