The Pearl River County School District will be offering free meals to children this summer for the first time in several years.

The summer food service program is funded by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and sponsored by numerous school districts in Mississippi, PRC Food Service Administrator Sheila L. Amacker said.

The national program aims to provide more than 200 million meals this summer to children nationwide, according to the USDA’s website.

Recently, the school district became involved with the program in order to help feed children in and around Pearl River County who may not have access to nutritional meals during the summer months, Amacker said.

“I do feel that there’s a need for children to receive proper meals because food is very expensive nowadays. So we’re really excited to be able to provide an additional feeding program to our community,” Amacker said.

The meals will be served inside the cafeteria at Pearl River Central Elementary located at 1592 Henleyfield-McNeill Rd. in Carriere.

The program begins June 1 and will last through June 26. During the weekdays, breakfast will be provided from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

While only children younger than 18 are eligible to receive free meals, Amacker encourages adults to purchase or bring their own food so they can share in the experience with their children.

Since it’s been years since the district has participated in this program, Amacker said she doesn’t know what the turnout will be, but hopes families will take advantage of the warm meals available.

“Every being deserves proper nutrition so we won’t discriminate on any level,” Amacker said.

The breakfast and lunch menus are available online at the PRC school district’s website.

For more information about the program, contact PRC’s food service office at (601) 798-5682.