Youths eat free
If you’re hungry and 18 or younger, there is such a thing as a free lunch. There are no forms or paperwork required; all you have to bring to one of many locations is your appetite.
On June 27, Kobe Dennis, 5, and Kobe Smith, 2, were eating lunch at Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook St.
“The kids look forward to it,” said their caregiver Amber. “They’ve been asking us to leave for the past two hours.”
Amber learned of the free Summer Meals Program from a friend who attended last year. She also received a mailing containing a list of locations from her neighborhood school.
The two Kobes gobbled down their lunch of turkey sandwiches, carrots, celery, apple slices, Oreo cookies and milk.
The United States Department of Agriculture provides funding for the Summer Meals Program and trains staff in meal preparation and service. Spokane Public Schools sponsors the program.
Based on last year’s figures, Doug Wordell, director of nutrition services for Spokane Public Schools, expects 1,500 free breakfasts and lunches to be served the first week, and that number to increase to 2,000 by the second week. These numbers reflect a drop in program use.
Both Wordell and Karen Holmes, recreation supervisor for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, believe the decline is due to the loss of the Summer Parks Program, which was discontinued three years ago due to safety issues at parks.
Holmes said the safety issues can be addressed by a $20,000 increase of funding to cover the cost of additional staff members and the rental of buildings to shelter children during bad weather or other times of need.
“On a regular basis people still call the Parks and Recreation Department asking what happened to the parks program they used to go to as children,” said Holmes.
Since the Summer Parks Program ended, West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt St., picked up some of the slack by using the free Summer Meals Program at nearby A.M. Cannon Park, Maxwell and Elm. Any child 18 and under can come to A.M. Cannon Park and receive a free breakfast at 9:20 a.m. and a free lunch at 12:30 p.m.
On June 28, there were at least 16 children at the park waiting for meals.
“We come and eat lunch here every day because it’s fun,” said Richard Archdale, 15. Archdale ate lunch with brothers Joshua, 13, and Jacob, 9. Before lunch, the boys joined in with park activities. Richard’s favorite thing to do is the Slip’N Slide.
Samantha, 12, brought her sister Serenity, 2, to the park. Samantha said the free meals “help a lot of people out.”