Winona Area Public Schools
The Summer Lunch Bus is back — although it will have a new parking spot for 2021. And the free meals? Those will continue as well.
Winona Area Public Schools, which has served hundreds of thousands of free meals in the Winona community since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue to do so throughout the summer and through the 2021-22 school year.
The summer plan includes the return of the Summer Lunch Bus, which will be parked at the Bob Welch Aquatic Center, 780 W. Fourth St., from 11:15 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday, beginning Monday, June 14.
Other locations for daily meal pick-up include:
- Goodview Elementary, 5100 Ninth St., Goodview, noon (no meals on Fridays)
- Winona Middle School, 1570 Homer Road, noon
- Winona Area Learning Center, 1299 W. Third St., 11:30 a.m.
- St. Stanislaus Elementary 602 E. Fifth St., 11:30 a.m. (no meals on Fridays)
WAPS School Nutrition will also be handing out free meals at the Winona Public Library Summer Reading Sites on the following days:
- 10:30 a.m. June 25 at Hiawatha Valley Marines Shelter, Lake Park
- 10:30 a.m. July 9 at Sobieski Park, Steuben and East Wabasha streets
- 10:30 a.m. July 23 at Knopp Valley Park, 300 Knopp Valley Dr.
- 10:30 a.m. Aug. 6 at Sinclair Park, 310 E. Broadway
All children ages 18 and under are allowed to pick up the meals regardless if they attend a WAPS school. The meal packs at the above locations will include that day’s lunch and the following day’s breakfast.
There also will be an option to pick up a five-day meal pack at Winona Senior High School, 901 Gilmore Ave., from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays beginning June 16. Families interested in this option will need to sign up by filling out a form linked here. If you are unable to fill out the form online, please call 507-494-1577.
In addition to the public distribution sites, WAPS School Nutrition will also be supplying free meals at six other locations for various summer programs and community organizations, but those are closed to the public.
Other locations may be added. Please check winonaschools.org for the latest updates.
The first free meal packs were distributed by WAPS School Nutrition on March 18, 2020. In the year that followed, the staff handed out more than 400,000 free meals — a number that continues to rise every week.
The federal program that allows WAPS to distribute these meals for free will continue through the 2021-22 school year. USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.