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2-minute read
Free breakfasts, lunches and snacks are available to Polk County kids all summer long — no ID, no cost, and at most locations, no application is necessary.
The statewide Summer BreakSpot program is available to all children up to 18 years old. Students can simply show up and receive balanced meals.
The program is funded by the USDA and run by the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Meals are served by local partners such as schools, churches and non-profits. The state reimburses the partners for every meal served.
At all locations, meals come prepared.
There are more than 20 distribution locations in Lakeland and 100 locations throughout Polk County.
How to find a BreakSpot location:
You can find your nearest BreakSpot location here, or call 850-617-7428.
Locations in the Polk County area begin opening in early June.
Use the interactive map below, which was created and is maintained by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is embedded from the BreakSpot website.
Local Impact:First United Methodist Church is a BreakSpot Community Partner. Its program, also known as their Summer Feed program, serves 30 breakfasts and 60 lunches, Monday–Thursday to children attending their summer camp and to walk-ins from the community.
Sean Hults, co-director of Neighborhood Ministries, has run the program for 10 years.
“Some summers we had just a few families,” he said. “During the pandemic, it was a drive-through—10 families that were going through regularly.”
Lasting Impact: For some families, a meal sparks a deeper connection. “One family started coming for meals while staying with their grandmother,” Hults said. “They were in need but excited to be here.”
They later joined the UMC’s summer camp, he said, and eventually, the after-school program.
“This program makes our camp possible,” said Eina Dorado, also a co-director of Neighborhood Ministries at First United Methodist. “It meets a basic need, builds a relationship, and helps us really invest in these children’s lives.”
Why It Matters: SNAP — the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — helps 2.9 million Floridians, mostly families with children. Now, $230 billion in proposed federal cuts threatens that safety net, according to the Florida Policy Institute.
Thousands of Polk County kids rely on the meals they receive when they attend school each day. With summer fast approaching, and the school year winds down, hunger doesn’t. Many families stretch budgets or skip meals throughout the week.
Florida BreakSpot has served more than 47 million meals at nearly 4,000 sites all over the state in low-income areas over the previous summers.
Hunger in Polk County: More than 80,000 people in Polk — 1 in 9 residents — don’t know if they’ll have enough food to get through the day.
That includes 25,590 children who aren’t sure when they’ll eat next.
How to get involved
If your school or organization would like to help students stay fed this summer, you can:
Call BreakSpot’s Community Partners Program at 1-800-504-6609
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
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