YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Serving 1,200 meals more than last week, Youngstown City Schools handed out nearly 10,000 meals to students and families Tuesday. The district is now serving not only school district kids but offering meals to anyone who drives through. 

"We're now giving out meals for anyone in the household one to 18 years," said Lorrie Durkin, Kitchen Manager at Martin Luther King Elementary. "They do not even have to attend our schools."

"There are really no questions asked," said Tascin Brooks, Chief of Food Services for Youngstown City Schools. "However, there is a limit of five meals per car."

Brooks said the National School Lunch program usually goes into effect when the school year starts. "That's meant for the students who are enrolled in the district." The USDA is extending the Summer Service Program, which allows Youngstown City Schools to "serve a greater demographic of people," according to Brooks. 

USDA provides funding to the district with no limit on how many meals can be distributed. Food from Gordon Food Service, Sysco, Borden, and Cirna and Sons are prepped weekly at Choffin Career Center, where it's then sent to surrounding schools.

"Some kids go home with nothing on the weekends," Durkin said. "It's a major issue in this area." Durkin said the food distribution would also help parents feed more family members. 

Food distribution will continue throughout the school year every Monday. The district knows how much food to order based off of week to week numbers. If a location runs out of meals, they are sent to a school that has food.

"We have now upped our counts for next week," Brooks said. "So, we're better prepared at those sites."

Below is a list of schools offering free meals every Monday from 11-1 p.m.:

  • Paul C. Bunn Elementary, 1825 Sequoya Dr.
  • Harding Elementary, 1903 Cordova Ave.
  • Martin Luther King Elementary, 2724 Mariner Ave.
  • Volney Rogers Elementary, 2400 S. Schenley Ave.
  • Williamson Elementary, 58 Williamson Ave.
  • Wilson Elementary, 2725 Gibson Ave.
  • Chaney High, 731 S. Hazelwood Ave.
  • East High, 474 Bennington Ave.