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 Stevens Point Journal 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 $47,789.78 that has accumulated over multiple years in the Stevens Point Area Public School District, as of the week of May 18, according to Sarah O’Donnell, the district’s director of communications.
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 Stevens Point Journal compiled a list of free summer meal sites offering breakfast and lunch that are open to local youths. Some sites require that children be enrolled in a local district to participate. Most sites require that meals be eaten on site.
Free summer meal sites for youth in the Stevens Point area
Here’s a list of times, dates and locations free meals are available for children and teens in the Stevens Point 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 Stevens Point Journal: Where can youth find free meals in the Stevens Point area this summer?
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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By Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal | USA TODAY Network
