LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Every Tuesday and Thursday, dozens of schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) District hand out meals to families in need.

JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said the workers handing out those meals are heroes.

“They’re out there every single day at so many sites, making sure our kids have the food that they need,” Pollio said.

The program has served more than 3.4 million meals in Jefferson County since the pandemic started, and isn’t exclusive to the Louisville area.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said schools across the commonwealth have similar ways to get food to kids in their communities, even if it looks a bit different from county to county.

“Our end goal is to reduce the amount of barriers it takes to make sure every Kentucky student has access to a warm meal, a breakfast, sometimes a snack or two along the way, and hopefully, when it’s appropriate, put some 'Kentucky Proud' goodness in there as well,” Quarles said.

Money is running low for the program in Jefferson County especially with money from the federal CARES Act expiring at the end of the year.

“Obviously we are feeding a lot of kids but it’s a lot less than we would do it in person, so the reimbursements that we are getting from the USDA are significantly less,” Pollio said. “So JCPS is having to use a significant amount of funding in order to meet the needs and feed our children throughout this community.”

Quarles said it’s important for districts to ask for money they may need from the current pot of CARES Act funding.

“We’re hoping that school systems, whether it be JCPS or others, that may need a little extra help ask for that help and that we utilize the money that our congressional delegation worked so hard to get to Kentucky first,” Quarles said.

Both Quarles and Pollio agree though — when Congress passes another round of coronavirus relief, school meal programs need to be a priority.

More information about where to go for meal service in Jefferson County can be found here. You do not need to have a student enrolled in JCPS to qualify.

If you don’t live in Jefferson County, contact your local school district for more information.