How Park City School District’s summer meal program differs from Utah’s SUN Meals Initiative

Photo: Photo by CDC

PARK CITY, Utah — As the Utah State Board of Education expands its free SUN Meals program statewide this summer, the Park City School District will continue operating its own separate food service for students enrolled in summer school programs.

Unlike the broader SUN Meals initiative, which offers no-cost meals and snacks to all children at schools, parks and community centers across Utah, Park City’s program is a restricted site, available only to students registered in the district’s summer academic programs.

From June 16 through July 23, breakfast and lunch will be served at McPolin Elementary School, Monday through Thursday. Breakfast runs from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., with no meal service on July 4.

District officials said the restriction to enrolled students is in place to ensure a safe and supervised learning environment during summer instruction. The meals are provided at no cost through the federal Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program, which allows school districts to maintain meal access when school is not in session.

Meanwhile, the Utah State Board of Education’s SUN Meals program is returning this summer at hundreds of open-access locations across the state. These include schools, libraries, parks, and other community spaces where any child, regardless of enrollment, can receive a free meal or snack. Some locations are designated as non-congregate, allowing meals to be taken off-site or picked up by a parent or guardian, depending on local site policy.

“Ensuring that Utah students continue to receive nutritious food even when school is out is a top priority,” the State Board noted in a May 20 release.

Park City School District is not currently listed among the public SUN Meals sites, but local families can search for nearby open-access sites using the USDA’s Summer Site Finder tool at www.fns.usda.gov/meals4kids. Utah-specific listings are being updated through the end of June.

Both programs reflect a coordinated federal and state effort to address childhood food insecurity during the summer months. According to the USDA, millions of children who rely on school meals during the academic year face a nutrition gap when school is out.

For more information on the Park City School District’s summer meal service, families can visit pcschools.us. For a list of open SUN Meals locations statewide, visit schools.utah.gov/cnp.