Jasper schools announce free summer meals for children starting May 26

Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools is lining up free breakfasts and lunches for children all summer at Jasper Elementary, giving working families a dependable food option once the school year ends and routines get harder to hold together.

The district’s 2026 Summer Meal Program will run from Tuesday, May 26 through Friday, Aug. 7. Breakfast will be served on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and lunch will be served on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., both in the Jasper Elementary School cafeteria at 3799 N. Portersville Road in Jasper.

Meals are free for children age 18 and under. Adults may buy lunch for $5, but they may not share a child’s meal, and anyone 19 or older may not consume or share any part of a child’s meal. Service is limited to the published meal times.

The district’s rules are designed to keep the program centered on children’s nutrition. Meals are supposed to be eaten on site unless the sponsor authorizes a child to leave with one component, such as fruit, a vegetable or a grain. Food left on sharing tables may only be eaten on site and only by children 18 and under. For families dealing with life-threatening allergies or disability-related needs, substitutions require a statement from a recognized medical authority describing the alternate foods needed.

The meal plan falls under the Summer Food Service Program, which the Indiana Department of Education describes as federally funded and state administered. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the program provides free meals and snacks to children and teens 18 and under at schools, parks and other eligible locations. The USDA also said 2026 reimbursement rates rose by an average of 3.7% from last year.

The scale of that need is not small. Indiana education officials said in 2024 that close to 200 sponsors across the state served more than three million meals to Indiana children during the summer months. Greater Jasper has taken part in the effort before, with summer meal programs offered in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2019. For Dubois County families, the Jasper Elementary cafeteria will again serve as a steady stop for breakfast and lunch when school is out.