Fresno EOC Food Services will soon launch its Winter Meals for Kids program, providing free meals for children at various locations during the winter break from school. Starting December 19, we will deliver to 5 locations in rural areas of Fresno County and 5 locations in the City of Fresno with our two Food Express buses. Anyone 18 years old and younger is invited to come on out and enjoy a nutritious meal on weekdays at no charge. This program is in addition to the year-round After School Meal Service run by Fresno EOC Food Services.
According to the latest data from Feeding America, more than 64,000 children in Fresno County were food insecure in 2020. When regular school is not in session, some children may not have access to nutritious meals. Jon Escobar, Fresno EOC Food Services Director says, “We saw a need and launched the mobile winter meals program in 2019. Last year, we served 1,355 meals to kids during the three-week period. We want to make sure they continue to get fed when schools are closed.”Meals will be available during the three-week period from December 19 through January 6 when children are out of school. There will be no meal service on December 26, January 2, or on weekends.All kids 1-18 years of age, regardless of their immigration status or their family income are welcome. According to guidelines from the Fresno County Department of Public Health, face masks are not required upon entrance to the bus.Food Services prepares and provides healthy and delicious meals in appropriate portion sizes. These lunches must meet strict nutrition guidelines issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Education (CDE).
Meals are also provided by Fresno EOC Food Services during the summer break when school is not in session, starting in mid-June and continuing through early August.
You can view all of the meal service sites and bus delivery schedules here: www.fresnoeoc.org/food-services.
Fresno EOC Food ServicesOur program provides healthy and nutritious meals to preschool and school-age children, youth and young adults, seniors, and organizations requiring catering services.Fresno EOC Food Services established operations in 1965. At its inception, Food Services served lunches to Head Start children and added the National Meals on Wheels Program in 1972. In the beginning, meals were prepared in satellite kitchens within the City of Fresno, but by October of 1985, the vision of constructing a central kitchen was realized and the state-of-art Food Preparation Center (FPC) was opened. Food Services served 2,000 meals a day when the FPC opened and has grown to more than 7,000 meals daily.
For media inquiries, please contact pr@fresnoeoc.org
