The Panther Valley School District will again be hosting a summer food program, bringing free meals to children under 18 in the community.

Last year, approximately a third of the district’s students participated with district staff preparing more than 1,800 meals twice a week, which were then distributed in each community.

The school board on Wednesday approved the program for 2025, and set the rate for summer food service workers at $19 an hour.

Superintendent Dave McAndrew pointed out last year that they know that hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation, and they want their students to enjoy their summer without worrying about food insecurity.

Details of the summer feeding program, including pickup times and locations, will be announced once finalized, Jesse Walck, business manager, said.

In a related matter, Walck pointed out that the district’s yearly renewal numbers for the food service contract are about finished.

“The Nutrition Group does a great job for us, and their contract, as it sits right now, calls for a guaranteed profit of over $230,000,” he said.

Board President Daniel Matika added that the food is fabulous, and Walck said that the food is much improved.

Walck also provided the board with an update on the business office, noting that there is a lot of training going on, and they’re also working through the budget numbers.

The business office also ran its first batch of names through the software designed to verify whether cyber charter school students actually live within the Panther Valley district, he said.

The district pays more than $10,000 in tuition for each student enrolled in cyber charter school, and the district often continues to pay if a student’s family moves without notifying the district.

“We were able to run our first batch and we identified a number of individuals,” he said, adding that he will provide the board with definite numbers as they work through the process.