By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Children younger than 18 will be able to eat for free and all others will be able to eat for a small fee at Meadow View Elementary School this summer through the Alabaster City School System’s summer feeding program.

This will mark the second summer the school system is offering the program, which will offer free breakfasts and lunches to children.

“Any child under the age of 18 is free, and it will include breakfast and lunch,” said ACS Child Nutrition Program Director Heather McDermott. “For adults, it will be $2 for breakfast and $4 for lunch.”

The program will begin on Tuesday, May 26, and will run through July 2, but could be extended by a few weeks, McDermott said.

Breakfast will be available at the school from 7-8:30 a.m., and lunch will be available from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. All children participating in ACS summer camps will also be able to participate in the summer feeding program.

The program is completely paid for through federal funds, and ACS recently received notification it will be able to offer the program each summer through the next few years.

“It’s exciting news,” Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said during a recent Board of Education work session. “We were really upset when we thought we wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Those with questions about the program should call McDermott at 663-8460.

“We just want to make sure we get the word out,” McDermott said. “It’s for the whole community. If you come to MVES, you will eat.”