LEONARDTOWN, Md. -To recognize the National School Lunch Program, serving nearly 30 million children each day, St. Mary’s County Public Schools will celebrate National School Lunch Week from October 12-16, 2020. The theme, “Now Playing School Lunch,” kicks off National School Lunch Week (NSLW). This special week of celebration is designed to bring positive attention to the school lunch program and the impact it has on our school community.
Activities for this special week include: Dress-up days and coloring contests. Students will have coloring pages included in their bags when they pick up their meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday beginning the week of October 5. Coloring contest entries are due on October 14. Dress-up Days will be Monday, October 12 – Disney Theme, Wednesday, October 14 – Space Movie Theme and Friday, October 16 – Super Heroes Theme. Please encourage your students to dress up on theme days as they come to pick-up their meals. Meal Distribution is available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at each school site from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
In St. Mary’s County Public Schools, over 7,000 students participate in our lunch program daily. Studies show that school lunches are healthier than typical packed lunches and that balanced nutrition throughout the day contributes to student success in and out of the classroom. “School lunches offer students fruits and vegetables, whole grains and milk, and meet federal nutrition standards limiting fat, calories, and sodium,” said Megan Doran, Director of Food and Nutrition Services.
The federally-funded National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has been fueling students for success for more than 70 years. Some students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the year. To apply for meal benefits on-line visit our website, www.smcps.org. Log into Food and Nutrition Services, Meal Benefit Information. You will find the “My School Apps” button. Meal Benefit applications submitted on-line are effective immediately.
The “Now Playing School Lunch” campaign is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association. Parents and students can follow the fun using the hashtags #NSLW2020, #NowPlayingSchoolLunch and #SchoolLunch. For more information on National School Lunch Week, visit https://schoolnutrition.org/nslw/.