By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Every day that school is in session, students and families can take advantage of a hot meal provided by Pelham High School. Any child under the age of 18 eats free and adult meals are $4.

“It’s really meeting the needs of the community,” said Grace Perry, the child nutrition program director with Pelham City Schools. “We are getting families in here; we are getting afterschool programs, such as athletics and clubs. It’s just been great. I feel like we are not just focusing on one group, we are meeting the needs of everybody.”

The program is federally funded through the At Risk Program, but the meals are not just for families on free or reduced lunch programs. Perry said this is for everyone in the community and the children do not even need to be enrolled in Pelham City Schools.

The dinners are provided from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. any day school is in session. The meals first started Nov. 2, and Perry said participation has increased steadily each day.

Federally funded through the At Risk Meals program, Pelham City Schools also participates in the At Risk Snack Program.

“It was put out there, and we were like, ‘It’s available to us. Why not take advantage of it for the people that do need it in the community, whether they don’t have a warm meal at night or they are staying after school and need a hot meal,’” Perry said.

Pelham City Schools meets the requirements to take advantage of both this dinner program and the At Risk Snack Program.

The hot meal consisted of milk, a fruit, vegetable and an entrée, providing a full meal to students and families.

Perry said they’ve been trying to publicize the program as much as they can, especially to the athletes who could grab dinner before a game or after practice. The important thing, according to Perry, is that everyone knows they are able to take advantage of it.

“That’s what was so appealing to us is because we could publicize it to our athletic programs or afterschool academic programs or families in the community that needed to come get a meal,” Perry said. “It was just all encompassing of everybody.”