Williston Public School District food service director Gina Barbie told the school board that the district’s summer feeding program expanded participation and delivered thousands of meals across multiple sites, and she urged parents to complete meal‑status applications to support Title funding.

"We did summer feeding this year, as some of you may know, and it was highly successful," Barbie said, and reported the program ran 35 days and served 5,146 breakfasts and 22,449 lunches during that period.

Barbie described service locations that included Central Campus (closed campus service to summer school and special‑education students), McVeigh (new breakfast site), Garden Apartments and other community locations. She explained how federal and state reimbursement supports summer meal operations and said the state reimbursement rates include an administrative reimbursement that helps pay for staff and buses.

Board members thanked the food‑service team for the outreach and impact. Commissioner Barr (board member) told Barbie the program made an important difference for students during the summer. Barbie also noted an increase in participation year‑over‑year: she said breakfasts increased from about 2,900 in 2024 to over 5,100 in 2025 at district locations and lunches rose to nearly 22,500.

Barbie encouraged families to fill out free‑and‑reduced meal applications because eligibility affects Title‑I funding and other district allocations. "It helps with title funding," she said, and added that state policy for the upcoming school year pays a larger share of the federal poverty line for eligibility and covers reduced‑price meal co‑pays for the year.

Board members asked no follow‑up policy questions during the report. Barbie closed by emphasizing the department’s commitment to ensuring students have meals so they can learn.