The Okaloosa County School District’s Summer Feeding Program provided more than 71,000 meals to students this summer, serving 27,848 breakfasts and 43,926 lunches to help ensure students had access to nutritious food while school was out.

• “Ensuring our students have access to nutritious meals doesn’t stop when the school year ends,” said Superintendent Marcus Chambers. “We are grateful to everyone who helped make sure our students had access to the meals they needed throughout the summer.”

Chambers credited the district’s Food Services team along with administrators, coaches, teachers and staff who worked together to support students during the program.

Stephen Anderson, program director of Food Services for the school district, also pointed to the collaborative effort behind the program’s reach.

“Our summer feeding program is only successful because of the dedication and teamwork of so many people across our district,” Anderson said. “We would never have been able to serve these many meals without their efforts. Their dedication makes a real difference in helping us ensure that our students have access to nutritious meals throughout the summer.”

The district’s athletic programs also played an important role in supporting the initiative by helping ensure their athletes had access to breakfast and lunch. Fort Walton Beach, Choctaw, Niceville and Crestview high schools, along with Davidson Middle School, participated this year.

The district recognized the administrators, coaches, teachers, daycare coordinators and staff who contributed to the program and helped make nutritious meals available to students throughout the summer.