St. Cloud school district offers free food to families

Long holiday weekends can be a tough time for families facing food insecurity, without schools providing breakfast and lunch to kids.

In central Minnesota, the St. Cloud Area School District 742 and local organizations are addressing hunger concerns by providing free food boxes to all families in the district who may need them, especially over holiday breaks.

St. Cloud Superintendent Laurie Putnam said the Feeding 742 Kids Initiative was a response to growing food insecurity faced by St. Cloud-area families. About 70 percent of the district’s students are living with food insecurity, meaning they can't afford or don't have access to enough nutritious food.

“Almost three-quarters of our students are going home not sure what dinner is going to be, (or) what happens on weekends,” Putnam sa