Nutrition is vital to children in Polk County even after school ends.

Therefore, the Polk School District will sponsor the Seamless Summer Nutrition Program in the Cedartown and Rockmart areas.

The program offers free meals to all participants from grade pre-k through age 18 and is looking for site sponsors to coordinate the meal service.

Meals must be consumed on the sponsor’s site with no meals being taken from the premises, according to Dean Timmons, director, Polk School District Food Service.

All grade and/or age eligible students are encouraged to participate. The program will operate Monday through Friday beginning June 4 through August 10.

Last summer, a total of 250 meals per day were served at several sites in Rockmart. The Rockmart / Aragon Ministerial Association sponsored these.

Approximately 100 meals per day were served in Cedartown at two sites. The Boys & Girls Club was the largest.

In 2012, the three sites in Rockmart where the free lunches will be distributed from 12 to 1 p.m. daily are the old Buy-Low building across from the former Elm Street School property, Hogue Avenue gym and Aragon Community Center.

Sylvia Pound, local site coordinator, said the lunch usually consist of a sandwich, fruit or vegetable and more.

Local volunteers agree that providing nutritious meals to children during the summer reduces the risk of hunger when they are no longer in school.

For more information, contact Dean Timmons at (770) 684-5447.