MADISON (WKOW) – Starting
Monday, children can get free meals at several Madison locations throughout the
summer.
Organizers say this year
they're offering more food at more places to meet an increasing need.
"No kid should go
hungry, no kid. They need it. They need that energy," says Kesha Evans.
Evans says she works
with the Madison Metropolitan School District as a special education assistant,
and she also has two sons of her own using the food service program.
Dozens of kids got a
free breakfast and lunch Monday at the Allied Learning Center on Allied Drive.
Monday is the first
day of a federally-funded summer food service open to anyone 18 years old or
younger.
"They don't need to
register. They don't need any identification to come and receive a meal," says Iris
Tirado-Noonan, MMSD Food Service Coordinator.
She says they don't
even have to live in the Madison district.
James Madison
Memorial and East High Schools are offering meals for the first time this year.
Tirado-Noonan says that's because it's sometimes tougher to get the older kids
to take advantage of it.
"It was a challenge
to get high school kids to get up 15 minutes early for breakfast," she says.
But this year the
need is too great to not give it a try.
She says the district
went from offering food at about 30 sites last year to closer to 40 this year
and from serving 3,200 children to an expected 4,000.
"It's still not
enough, not when the school district has over 10,000 qualify for free or
reduced meals, which is one of measurements to know where the need is for food
security," she says.
Evans says it would
be tough for her family without the summer program.
"It's pretty helpful.
It's really helpful because I do run short at the end of the month, really
short," Evans says. "I am grateful for the [Allied Learning Center]."
The program takes
place Monday-Friday from June 18-August 17.
No meals will be
served on Wednesday, July 4.
See the list of locations below:
Sites new this year
include:
- Penn
Park
- Salvation
Army Traveling Bible Camp
- Worthington
Park
- Windom
Park
- St.
Paul Lutheran Church
- Sheehan
East Park
- Sheehan
Park Central
- East
High
- Memorial
High
Summer School
Sites/MSCR SREC (Breakfast & Lunch)
- Allis
Elementary School
- Chavez
Elementary
- Hamilton
Middle School
- Huegel
Elementary School
- Hawthorne
Elementary
- Leopold
Elementary
- Mendota
Elementary
- O'Keeffe
Middle School
MSCR Camps &
Parks Sites (meals vary per location)
- Marlborough
Park (Lunch & Snack)
- Allied
Learning Center (Breakfast & Lunch)
- Meadowood
Neighborhood Center (Lunch & Snack)
- Warner
Park Kids Kamp (Breakfast & Lunch)
MSCR Safe Haven Child
Care Sites (Lunch & Snack)
- Glendale
Elementary School
- Emerson
Elementary School
- Falk
Elementary School
- Lindbergh
Elementary School
- Lowell
Elementary School
Apartments/Community
Centers (meals vary per location)
- Allied
Boys & Girls Club
- Bay
View Apartments Bayview
- Broadway
Lake Pointe
- Boys
& Girls Club (Breakfast & Lunch)
- East
Madison Community Center
- Ho-Chunk
(Breakfast & Lunch)
- Kennedy
Heights Community Center
- Lighthouse
(Lunch & Snack)
- Lussier
ELC (Breakfast, Lunch & Snack)
- Lussier
@ Jefferson Middle (Breakfast, Lunch & Snack)
- Midvale
Baptist Church (Lunch & Snack)
- Northport
Apartments
- Packers
Apartments (Breakfast & Lunch)
- Salvation
Army @ Darbo (Breakfast & Lunch)
- Vera
Ct Apartments (Lunch & Snack)
- Wisconsin
Youth Company-McKenna Blvd,
- (Breakfast
& Lunch)
- Wright
MS-Boys and Girls Program (Breakfast & Lunch)
