Durham Congregations in Action is collecting money to make sure Durham Public School students, who receive a free breakfast and lunch at school, don't go hungry on May 16 when the school district, along with many others in North Carolina, closes for a teacher rally in Raleigh.
Nearly 21,000 Durham Public Schools students, about 63 percent of the entire student population, qualify for free or reduced meals each day, according to the school system. Durham schools will provide free meals on May 16 through an extension of its summer feeding program at 13 schools, according to a press release.
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Those schools are:
- Bethesda Elementary
- Club Blvd. Elementary
- Eastway Elementary
- Eno Valley Elementary
- Githens Middle
- Glenn Elementary
- N. Harris Elementary
- Hillandale Elementary
- Lakewood Montessori Middle
- Sandy Ridge Elementary
- Shepard Middle
- Southwest Elementary
- Southern School of Energy and Sustainability
School Nutrition Services staff members will be on-site at these locations to prepare and serve meals in the cafeterias. All meals will be free to all students. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and include a muffin, Nutri-Grain bar, fruit juice and milk. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and include a turkey and cheese or ham and cheese sandwich, chips, fruit juice, fruit cup, baby carrots, Rice Krispie treat, and milk.
Durham Congregations in Action is partnering with a group of faith and community organizers, according to a press release, to raise the money needed to send students home on May 15 with a bag with breakfast and lunch if they are unable to get the free meals that the school is providing.
The group's website has more information about the effort and ways to help.
A growing number of school districts across the state have announced that they will close to let teachers protest at the Legislative Building on May 16. They're seeking better pay, school safety improvements and repairs to crumbling buildings.