Children will be served free lunches again this summer, thanks to Great Northern Services’ Summer Food Program.
Now in its second year, the program will offer lunch at three locations in Weed and one in Mount Shasta every weekday from Monday, June 20 through Friday, August 12.
“All children 18 years old and under are welcome,” GNS Summer Food Program coordinator Heather Solus said.
Parents or guardians may accompany small children, she explained, but due to budget limitations adults will not be served a meal.
Scheduled locations and lunch times in Weed are as follows:
- Weed Elementary School, from 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.;
- Mountain View Apartments, from 12 – 12:30 p.m.; and,
- Bel Air Park, from 12 – 12:30 p.m.
In Mount Shasta, lunches will be served from 12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m. at Mount Shasta Elementary School.
A combination of Great Northern staff and volunteers will oversee lunch service at the Weed sites, according to Solus, while the Mount Shasta Rotary Club will run the site in Mount Shasta.
She said the meals will be prepared by a food-safe certified GNS staff member in a food-safe certified kitchen and delivered to the lunch sites daily.
After-lunch activities will be offered several days a week at Bel Air Park and Mount Shasta Elementary. The schedule of activities for the week will be announced every Monday at those locations.
The program is funded in part by the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service, which is “an equal opportunity provider and employer,” according to the USDA website. The balance of the funding is donated by individuals, businesses, and corporations – generosity Solus described as “very important to the success of the program.”
Last year the Summer Food Program ran only at the Bel Air Park location. Solus said this year’s expanded program is fully funded and reflects the priority to “get the food to where the kids are.”
“We’re looking forward to expanding to more sites in more towns next year,” she added.
For more information about Great Northern’s Summer Food Program, call Solus at 938-4115, extension 128.