In Sarasota County around 50% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch programs and in Manatee County around 70% of students do.
Over this summer, there are programs for kids in both Sarasota & Manatee Manatee County, which provide students who need food, hot meals Monday through Friday, as well as food bags for each weekend over the summer.
In Sarasota County, the school district, works with All Faiths Food Bank to provide meals to students.
Breakfast and lunch is served throughout the week at different locations for kids under 18. Students participating in the summer learning programs also will receive breakfast, lunch, and food to take home for the weekend.
Summer food will be available in Sarasota County from June 3rd to August 2nd. A list of locations of where you can find the free meals can be found here.
https://www.sarasotacountyschools.net/Page/2674
Manatee County students who need food, can get a hot lunch Monday through Friday through the Food Bank of Manatee in one of their summer break spot buses.
http://summerbreakspot.freshfromflorida.com/
Then, on Fridays, kids will receive a bag to take home. That bag will have six meals to eat over the weekend. Last year, the Food Bank of Manatee handed out 18,000 weekend bags and this year they're hoping to hand out 20,000.
In addition, The Food Bank of Manatee is looking for volunteers to help fill weekend bags as well as food donations. More information about volunteering and the summer program can be found here.