Schools in El Dorado County concluded their student meal programs for the year, but the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is helping to ensure some students in Pollock Pines continue to have access to meals through early August. The Summer Food Program will run June 7 through August 6 for any Pollock Pines youth under the age of 18.
The collaborative effort is funded by the federal Child Nutrition Program, and the kitchen staff at SCOE’s Sly Park Environmental Education Center assembles the prepackaged meals. The staff also distributes the grab-and-go meals at Pinewood Elementary (in Pollock Pines) Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Each bag contains lunch, plus breakfast for the following day.
“School nutrition programs are more important than ever,” said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools. “We are extremely proud of our Sly Park kitchen staff for stepping in to serve the El Dorado County community once again.” Sly Park launched a similar summer meal program last summer.
SCOE operates Sly Park, an outdoor school campus that brings almost 8,000 fifth- and sixth-grade students into the Eldorado National Forest each year to learn about the outdoors and science in a residential school setting.
The meal program is a collaboration between SCOE, the California State Employees Association, and the Pollock Pines Elementary School District. For questions about the summer program, email Sly Park Director Brett Nelson.