MORTON, Ill. — The United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) has renewed a free food service program at Morton schools through the end of 2020.
All children 18 and under, not just Morton students, are eligible to receive free lunch, regardless of family income.
The program began in the spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morton Schools said the program provides full regular meals. There will be a small charge for side, or a la carte items, as well as drinks including milk.
Families wanting to take part in the Community Lunch pickup program must register children and commit to a month at a time. Morton students are not required to register.
The first deadline to register for free meals is noon on Friday, September 11, which will cover the remainder of September.
The sign-up deadline going forward will be noon on the last Friday of the month.
For October, the deadline will be September 25; for November, October 30; and for December, November 27. Families must fill out a form every month.
Weekly pickups, five meals per child, will begin on Monday, September 14, at the Bertha Frank Performing Arts Center at Morton High School, 350 N. Illinois Avenue, and continue on the first day of each school week thereafter.
If Monday is a holiday, the pickup would be on Tuesday. The meals will be distributed between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Bertha Frank main entrance.
The U.S.D.A. extension of the program is retroactive to September 1, so if families have already paid for lunches, accounts will be credited.
For more information, contact Kristina Klein at (309) 284-6320
