SPRINGDALE — Low participation in summer meals keeps the program from expanding to help more hungry children in the area.
Carol Godfrey, food service director, said she wishes more students would take part in the free summer lunch program where numbers have been stagnant in recent years.
The Springdale School District offers free summer lunches to about 700 students each weekday at Parson Hills, Jones and Elmdale elementary schools, as well as Springdale High School. Godfrey expects that number to plummet by half after most summer school programs end next week.
The number of students in the program pales in comparison to the district's number of children who need financial help for meals during the school year. Two-thirds of Springdale's 19,375 enrolled students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The number of eligible students rose about 10 percent in the past four years.
Lunch could be served at more schools, but administrators said it's hard to get students to participate unless they're attending summer session at that school. More than 100 students need to show up daily to break even on expenses such as staffing and food, Godfrey said.
The food service department would also have to hire more employees to open new sites. The department employs four managers.
"We can't be everywhere to everybody," Godfrey said.
The district added three schools to the summer meal program last year, but the turnout didn't justify bringing the schools back this summer. When Bayyari, George and Lee elementary schools eliminated their regular summer academics this year, food service administrators knew the schools couldn't attract the required number of students.
The food service department doesn't collect its money from the School District. The department's revenue during the school year comes from paid lunches and U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals. The Agriculture Department reimburses food service $2.79 per summer meal. Springdale received $6 million in reimbursements and $1.2 million from full-price meals last year. The department spent $3.7 million on food.
Schools across the state also have problems attracting students to summer meal programs.
"There are issues with access. There are issues with availability," said Justin Keller, a field director at the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
Estela Garcia brings her three children to Parson Hills each weekday to eat lunch. Her son and two daughters munched on chicken strips, mashed potatoes and fruit Wednesday.
The family is on food stamps, and the free food allows Garcia to worry about buying one less meal for her children each day, she said.
The Fayetteville School District's summer program serves about 600 meals daily at its one participating building, Owl Creek School, said Adam Simmons, food service director.
Simmons said Fayetteville doesn't have the extra money to expand its program or bus students to the site.
"Bringing the food to them is the only other alternative," he said.
Food service employees are trying to find a business partner to help the district buy a $250,000 truck designed to store hundreds of meals. The truck could travel to four or five apartment complexes and feed 800 children each day, Simmons said.
Arkansas Department of Human Services programs step in to help feed school-age children during the summer. Money for summer food programs through the department has increased by $21.3 million, to $61.3 million, in the last five years. The money goes to schools, churches and civic organizations who run volunteer feeding programs.
Denise Claypool directs the meal program for Christ For The World church in Rogers. The church's program began this summer and serves children in Springdale and Rogers. The group travels to Colony Square Apartments in Springdale, where it feeds about 80 students each day. The church feeds about 120 children per day at Doubletree Apartments and about 40 students at Turtle Creek Apartments, both in Rogers.
"If they're not in school, they're not eating," Claypool said.