ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Throughout the course of a school year, young people and faculty can be found in lunch lines and cafeterias awaiting their midday meal.
During the summer months, though, most students are left at the will of their parents, and in many cases themselves, to find something to eat.
Many school districts, including USD 483, have been helping out with that need for years, and starting May 28, the district will again be offering its summer meals program for youth looking for food at lunchtime.
This year, lunches will be served from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Plains and from noon to 12:30 p.m., weekdays at the Kismet Pavilion.
USD 483 District Nurse Norma Sanchez, who coordinates the program along with Plains fourth grade teacher Kayla Mendoza, said cooks make some great meals to serve with the program.
“They put a lot of work into it,” Sanchez said. “They’re really good hot scrumptious meals, a lot like what they serve during the school day.”
Sanchez added the meals served are all nutritionally sound.
“We’re very blessed to have a community that helps us with facilities, time, helping get the word out,” she said. “We’ve been really blessed to have everyone’s help.”
While meals are served through Monday through Friday, Sanchez said the program will be closed the week of July 4. Meals will be served through Aug. 2. Breakfast will likewise be served, but Sanchez said the schedule and location of that meal will be different.
“We serve breakfast at Southwestern Heights Junior High School, and those are only Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” she said.
Breakfast can be picked up from 8:45 to 9 a.m. on those days at SWHJH.
“Typically, the people who take advantage of that are the kids who are at our summer weights,” she said. “They go and get their breakfast right after they’ve had a workout. Anyone’s welcome to pick those up.”
In the past, those taking part in the summer meals program could enjoy their meal onsite or take it to go. With this year’s program, Sanchez said grab and go is the only option.
“Everyone will get to take their lunches home and eat those,” she said.
Sanchez said travelers making their way through the area can likewise take advantage of the program.
“Our locations are made public through the state,” she said. “Even if you’re just a traveler and need a meal for your children, you’re able to pick up.”
Sanchez said the downside to this is not knowing how many kids will show up in a given day.
“In the past, we’ve had a few times when we might’ve run out of food, and as much as we all hate that, those things are sometimes unavoidable. You might have a huge surplus of kids show up one day because they’re visiting grandma and grandpa. We make adjustments as soon as we can for those types of situations, but sometimes unfortunately, those things happen. We are quick to work together to correct all those things.”
USD 483’s summer meals program has been in place for several years now, and Sanchez said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a good day would bring in about 100 kids.
“We thought we are awesome, and we’re accomplishing things,” she said.
After COVID, though, Sanchez said numbers for the program nearly tripled and have stayed that way since then.
“COVID definitely made an impact on the amount of kids who have shown up for whatever reason, but we encourage all kids to come,” she said. “We want our program to continue to be successful.”
The majority of USD 483 students are on free and reduced lunches, and Sanchez said that statistic has remained steady even after the pandemic. She added those numbers go into some of the criteria when a district applies for a summer food program.
“Those demographics help ensure we can get those services through the state,” she said. “We know what our demographic is, what our population is. We know there’s a need, so we’re going to make sure we rise to that challenge.”
Sanchez said the lone concern school officials have with the summer meals program is the inability to reach kids outside of Plains and Kismet in more rural parts of the district.
“We still don’t have a way to do that,” she said. “The heartbreaking part is if you live in the country, as do so many of our kids, the access to our free summer meals is not there.”
Sanchez said the food pantries in the communities USD 483 serves see the big need for food in the district, and she said a few times, the pantries ran low on food more rapidly than usual.
“It took more effort from the community to restock that food pantry,” she said.
Sanchez added this means it is not just the summer food program that has seen higher numbers.
“Our local food pantries that give out boxes of food regularly, that’s also gone up,” she said.
Sanchez said there is a definite understanding of the need not just in local communities, but in the state and America as a whole.
“COVID has still impacted those things, and inflation has just added to that,” she said. “It’s definitely something we’ve seen as magnified since COVID.”
Sanchez said many young people cannot prepare a nutritionally sound meal for themselves, and this increases the importance of a summer meals program.
“You find kids are eating a bunch of quick processed foods,” she said. “That’s what’s available. That’s what’s handy. They’re not really cooking meals for themselves. It’s a really good nutritionally sound meal that’s prepared for kids. We know there’s importance on multiple levels.”
A few years ago, after many years of hard work, a grocery store returned to the town of Plains, and since Grand Avenue Market has been in the community, Sanchez said it has definitely helped with the need for food in the district.
“We see kids walk to the store by themselves all the time to pick up a few essentials, run errands for their parents, pick up food, pick up groceries,” she said. “We know the kids are utilizing that resource. It has been really nice to have something in town.”
With the next closest grocery stores located in Meade and Liberal, Plains and Kismet see a lack of food availability, and Sanchez said Grand Avenue Market helps with the need for food in those communities.
“Neither of those are walking distance for anybody,” she said of Meade and Liberal. “We knew there was a need for that, and our community worked really hard to get that grocery store. It’s great to have somewhere that has fresh meat and fresh produce.”
Sanchez said grocery stores are a crucial need for any town.
“We had gone so long without a grocery store that our people who got used to traveling for groceries, it took them a second to used to doing their shopping in town,” she said.
Those wanting more information on the summer meals program can go to www.usd483.net, where a flyer for the program can be found.
“That’s going to get you all the answers, all of our times, dates and locations,” Sanchez said. “All the information necessary is on there. They can certainly reach out to me at
Sanchez said information on the program is not released until district officials get approval from the state.
“That state approval is essential,” she said. “It’s a state-funded program, so there is a lot of paperwork. There is a lot of time that goes in there. There’s a lot of seminars. There’s a lot of webinars. There’s a lot of work we have to do to stay right in the eyes of the state. One of those things is making sure we have proper documentation, proper work filed and approval.”
Sanchez said USD 483 officials are thankful for state leaders and taxpayers who help make the program possible.
“We need to utilize it,” she said. “That’s what those funds are set aside for. We need to utilize that and make sure our kids are getting good meals.”
