Sponsors Speak

Isabel Guzman: A good food service program can bring a community together

I have been working with the Summer Food Service Program for 26 years. I am very proud that our cafeterias not only serve two hot meals a day to children during the summer but, after all these years, we are now a gathering spot for the rest of the town. I believe that our success is due to our team of servers and monitors and the fact that we make everyone feel welcome.

The Crystal City Independent School District’s Summer Food Service Program is different from most programs run by schools. Our two meal sites serve the entire community, not just children.

We wanted to create a place for people to meet and eat and, this being South Texas, escape the hot summer sun. Working with the Summer Food Service Program staff, we set up a program that feeds children for free and can sell meals to parents and the general public.

The Summer Food Service Program illustrates how a good food-service program can bring a community together. Our Enchilada Day, which is every Friday during the summer weeks, is very popular. Everyone in town comes to eat — our judge, the sheriff and deputies, our school superintendent with his daughter. We charge adults $3 for a plate and you would not believe how many parents come in and have lunch with their children on Fridays.

The Summer Food Service Program makes it possible for us to fulfill our mission to feed children. Along the way, it’s also helped us to make a difference in the life of our town. I would encourage organizations to consider how the Summer Food Service Program could make a difference in their communities.

Isabel Guzman is the Food Service Director for the Crystal City Independent School District.

Fill the Gap

For nine months of the year, many children depend on the free or reduced-price meals they receive at school to get the proper nutrition they require. However, those meals are not available when schools close for the summer. The Summer Food Service Program helps fill the hunger gap by providing children with the same nutritious meals they receive during the school year.

You can help us fill the gap.

The Summer Food Service Program is seeking private nonprofit organizations interested in providing free meals to children in their community. If your organization already provides services to the community and has the resources to run a food service program, you can become a Summer Food Service Program sponsor. If your organization does not have the resources to be a sponsor but still wants to participate in this summer meal program, you may be able to operate a meal site under an established sponsor.

Make an investment in the children in your community. To learn more about the Summer Food Service Program, attend a training session conducted by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Training sessions will take place in several cities around the state in April. Click here to see the complete training schedule. You can make your reservations online. For other questions, please contact the Summer Food Service Program at 512-420-2449.

Updated: April 14, 2006