School’s out, but cafeteria’s open

For some, it’s an excuse to get out of the house. For others, it might be their only chance to eat until Mom and Dad get home.

Whatever the reason, hundreds of children in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene are taking advantage of a federal program that provides free breakfast and lunch at schools. The aim is to keep kids who depend on free or reduced-price lunches during the school year eating through the summer.

But there’s no screening at the school sites. Anyone can eat. Kids under 18 do so free. In Coeur d’Alene, adults pay $2 for lunch and $1 for breakfast. In Post Falls, adults pay $1.85 for breakfast and $3 for lunch.

The federal government reimburses the school districts for each meal served.

Sisters Keelani and Keeva Duffy joined a friend for lunch Friday at Ramsey Elementary School in Coeur d’Alene before heading to Lake Coeur d’Alene for a swim. The girls live in Rathdrum, which doesn’t offer the program. A free lunch makes it easier for them to afford to drive into town, 18-year-old Keelani Duffy said.

“We usually make an excuse to come get free lunch,” she said.

Their mother introduced them to the program a few years ago. If it weren’t for the program, Keelani Duffy said, they’d have to pack a lunch from home or get something cheap in town.

“We’d probably eat at McDonald’s, which isn’t as healthy as this,” she said.

Four schools in Coeur d’Alene offer free breakfast and lunch five days a week through Aug. 15. The district reduced the number of sites by two this year because the program ran over budget last year, said Ed Ducar, director of food services for the Coeur d’Alene School District.

Post Falls expanded its sites from three to four with the addition of Seltice Elementary School. Those sites will serve five days a week through Aug. 22. Three other schools will serve meals at different times in the summer.

The reduction in sites in Coeur d’Alene hasn’t affected the number of kids eating, Ducar said.

The district averaged 218 children for breakfast and 590 for lunch last year. This year, it’s 284 for breakfast and 605 for lunch.

“We’re serving less sites, but we’re serving more students,” Ducar said.

Ramsey Elementary School gets the most, with about 300 children eating lunch each day. Kids from the School Plus summer program and from different day camps in the area often stop by for a bite, said Mary Ortiz, who helps manage the program at Ramsey.

Response to the program in Post Falls has been higher than in the past, said Annie Mader, food services director.

The Post Falls program served an average of 136 breakfasts and 727 lunches each day in June last year. This June, the program served an average of 176 breakfasts and 1,023 lunches.

“It’s grown considerably,” Mader said.

The purpose, she said, is simple: Provide food to those who need it. “That way, their grocery money can go for dinners and the weekend (meals),” she said.

Joelle Geissinger said the program makes it easier to run errands with her daughters, 2-year-old Kelsie and 4-year-old Karissa. She lives in Post Falls but travels to Coeur d’Alene often for errands. And every time she leaves the house, the girls get hungry.

“Sometimes I pack a lunch, but this is really nice,” she said as her girls ate orange popsicles. “When I’m running my errands, we can just stop by, and they can eat.”

Keelani Duffy said the Rathdrum area would benefit from the program. She said she knows of too many kids who sit home all day and fend for themselves when it comes to lunch.

“I don’t know how well that works,” she said.

Lakeland School District Superintendent Chuck Kinsey said the district may consider adding the program.

“It’s certainly not something that we won’t continue to look at it,” Kinsey said.