As the 2025-26 school year comes to an end some families are facing increasing food and economic insecurity including instances of dipping into savings or emergency accounts for regular expenses, missing meals, receiving food donations or receiving federal food-purchasing benefits, according to a May 27 blog post by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Wausau Daily Herald recently published an exclusive report that showed this growing financial insecurity is one of several factors that have contributed to a meal debt balance of $20,683.00 in the Wausau School District, as of the week of May 18, and $21.695.40 in the D.C. Everest School District, as of the week of May 25, according to representatives from both districts.
Several groups including the U.S. Department of Agriculture in partnership with school districts or other service organizations regularly provide free meals to local youth during summer months when school is not in session. Many of these sites can be found on the USDA’s Summer Meals Site Finder website.
The Wausau Daily Herald compiled a list of free summer meal sites offering breakfast and/or lunch that are open to local youths. Some sites require that children be enrolled in a local district or the sibling of an enrolled student to participate. All of the listed sites require that meals be eaten on site.
Free summer meal sites for youth in the Wausau area
Here’s a list of times, dates and locations free meals are available for children and teens in the Wausau area this summer:
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Where can local youth find free meals in the Wausau area this summer?
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Erik Pfantz, Wausau Daily Herald | USA TODAY Network
