Orange-Ulster BOCES offers free summer meal pickups for county kids

Orange-Ulster BOCES is sending home free meal kits for children and teens 18 and under this summer, with Wednesday pickups from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 53 Gibson Road in Goshen through Aug. 12. The program is open to all eligible children, not just BOCES students, and each weekly kit includes five breakfasts and five lunches meant to help families bridge the gap when school cafeterias close for the season.

Families can pick up the meals through a parent, guardian or another designated adult, and they are asked to complete a registration form by the Friday before each Wednesday pickup so food-service staff can pack enough kits. The meals are available at no charge through the USDA Summer Food Service Program and include fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain cereal, eggs, cheese and milk.

The Gibson Road site is the Amy Bull Crist Area Education Center, named for Amy Bull Crist, a founding leader and the district’s first superintendent.

Feeding America’s county estimate puts Orange County at 48,730 food-insecure residents in 2023, a 12.1% rate, with an annual food budget shortfall of $34,772,000. New York’s Summer EBT, or SUN Bucks, provides $120 per eligible child in 2026, with benefits issued beginning June 16 and applications accepted through Sept. 8 for children who are not enrolled automatically through SNAP, Temporary Assistance, Medicaid or direct certification for free or reduced-price school meals. By early July, nearly 1.6 million children had already received $189 million in summer food assistance statewide.