I wanted to make you aware of the Emergency Meals-to-You program – a public-private partnership between USDA, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others – designed for home delivery of free shelf-stable, nutritious meals to students in rural areas, missing school due to COVID-19.

Their immediate priority is to ensure that school districts and individuals in rural areas of the country are aware of this program and sign up to receive assistance through MealsToYou.org.

School Districts

To be eligible to participate in the program, school districts must meet the following requirements:

• Participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP),
• Have at least 50% of enrollment eligible for free or reduced-priced meals (FRP),
• Have an announced closure of at least four weeks (not counting spring break), and
• Fall under the designation of rural area (can be checked here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/rural-designation).

Parents and Students

Students in qualifying school districts who were receiving free or reduced priced meals through the National School Lunch Program are eligible to participate in the program. Once enrolled, school districts may reach out to families with more information and instructions for signing up, but parents are encouraged to visit MealsToYou.org and proactively register their children to receive free, nutritious meals.

Once a school district is enrolled, a student who signs up for the program can expect to start receiving meals delivered to their home in about one week. Each student who is enrolled in the household will receive their own meal kit.