Summer break can be a source of anxiety for children who may not know where their next meal is coming from.

Seamless Summer Option is a program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administered by Georgia Department of Education, that provides free meals to children living in communities where at least 50 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. Many districts in Georgia offer the program.

Deborah Ford is working this summer at a feeding site at Lithonia High School, and as a parent, she knows how expensive it can be to feed growing children. “They eat a lot during the summer.” This program “helps parents financially.”

Lithonia High School is one of two feeding “hubs” in DeKalb County. Meals for Seamless Summer programs all over DeKalb are prepared there. It’s also an open site, meaning any child 18 and under can go there for a free meal.

Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. and lunch starts at 11 a.m. To find a Seamless Summer site, visit whyhunger.org or call 1-866-3HUNGRY.

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(Illustration: Jessi Esparza / AJC)

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