CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — From Monday until August, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will be offering free meals to students at hundreds of schools across the city.
"Today I ate milk, crackers and cheese," said 5-year-old Bonita. "It was so good."
Bonita and her mother Paweena, who live in Irving Park, stopped to chat with WBBM on Monday about CPS' LunchStop program.
Paweena said this is her second year participating in the program.
"It helped me save money because it's summer, and the school provides the school lunch for me," she said. "It saves money for me"
CPS Food and Nutrition Program Manager Justine Britten said the goal of the program is to address the lack of access to nutritious meals.
"We know that once schools close, a lot of students lose access to the free meals, breakfast and lunch, that we provide throughout the school year, so the summer meal program is trying to fill that gap and provide free, nutritious meals throughout the summer," Britten said.
The program is open to students ages 1 – 18.
You can find a LunchStop location on CPS' Summer Meal Finder website.
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