By Zach Thomas

MURFREESBORO – Even though fewer kids are in school in the middle of summer, Murfreesboro County Schools are livelier than ever. Through the United States Department of Agriculture, MCS will provide free meals for students through August 2.

With over 900 students currently enrolled in summer school programs, Lisa Trail, the Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives with MCS, emphasizes the work is not complete in caring for their students at the end of the school year.

MCS will provide both breakfast and lunch to children 18 years and under regardless of whether they attend a county school or not. Trail welcomes all to come:

This summer food program currently has these meals available at six city schools including Bradley Academy, Discovery Academy, Northfield Elementary, John Pittard, Reeves-Rogers Elementary, and Scales Elementary as well as The Discovery Center, Patterson Park, and five apartment complexes. The program will add four more locations in Cason Lane Academy and Black Fox, Hobgood, and Mitchell-Neilson Elementary Schools on July 22.

While this program does end as the school year begins, MCS begins a “backpack foods” program that provides meals for chronically hungry students to eat over the weekends with the help of a grant from Second Harvest Food Bank.

For more information, you can listen back or watch Bryan Barrett’s full interview with Lisa Trail on a recent Rutherford Issues program to learn more.