By: Taylor Bowden / Assistant News Director

The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended the Summer Food Service Program for schools around the nation. For the St. Cloud Area School District this means starting Monday, Sept. 14th free breakfast and lunch will be provided to students.

The free meals will accommodate to all including Distance Learning Academy students as well as students learning on a hybrid schedule.

For hybrid students the meal rotations will look like this:

K-2 students—Thursday afternoon
A students—Monday and Wednesday afternoons (two days’ meals on Wednesdays)
B students—Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (two days’ meals on Thursday)

For Distance Learning Academy students the option for Grab-n-Go meals will be open between 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at their neighborhood elementary school. An at-home meal will be sent home with them on Thursday afternoons. DLA students must “opt in” for meals before picking up daily meals using the District page.

This USDA allowance is for a limited time only. Either until the funding runs out or at the latest, Dec. 31st. This means families who are in need of free and reduced lunch must apply in the case that the district returns to fee-based meals.