When Kate McCartney, the youth services manager in Marysville, heard there were no summer meal sites in her county, she wanted to get involved. “No one asks questions and our kids are fed.”
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“There’s a diversity that prevents free lunches from being stigmatized,” Mrs. Elswick and her three daughters were just one of dozens of families who stood in line to get strawberries, carrots, oranges and Bosco Sticks (a lunchroom staple of mozzarella-stuffed breadsticks). Sitting at picnic tables next to the library, Mrs.
and a frequent patron of the Marysville Public Library in Ohio, appreciates not having to prove her girls “are worthy of having assistance” before they eat lunch. But any child can be fed, once a summer meals site is up and running.Įlizabeth Elswick, 35, a receptionist at a Y.M.C.A. Census data can also be used to identify areas of eligibility. To be eligible to serve food, a site must be located in an area where at least 50 percent of students get free or reduced-price meals at school. Some of the free lunches served to children at the library in Elmwood Place, Ohio. In July 2016, summer meals served only one child for every seven low-income children who participate in free and reduced-cost lunch during the school year, the group said. But transportation can be a barrier for accessing many of these programs, as are the limited number of summer camps and activities for low-income kids, according to a new report called “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation” by the Food Research & Action Center. has tried to fill the gap by providing meals at sites like camps, parks and Y.M.C.A.s. That year, nearly four million children got roughly 179 million meals. In 2016, it funded roughly 50,000 sites nationwide as a way to feed kids who rely on free or reduced meals during the school year. The meals are paid for through the United States Department of Agriculture’s summer food service program. Local sponsors like camps, operators of school feeding programs or churches procure food to be prepared, get it delivered to sites like libraries, and handle most of the administrative tasks and paperwork for reimbursement. Another time, she brought in a 3-D printer so they could see how it worked. We are providing learning opportunities and keeping kids reading all summer long.”Īfter one lunch, Danielle McFarland, the children’s librarian at Elmwood Place, gave out tiny robots called Ozobots, which are designed for the youngsters to program. “Libraries see that kids in their communities are hungry,” said Natalie Cole, a library programs consultant for the California State Library. “I didn’t have food at home, so we had to come,” she said. Dowdell said her daughter, who will be starting kindergarten this fall, is typically more picky so doesn’t always want to eat at the library.
Tayrnce scooped a heap of pasta into his mouth and said softly, “It’s yummy.” Giving kids books and nutrition is a win-win, all the way around.”Ī couple times a week, Taryn Dowdell, 27, sits in a quiet corner of the Elmwood Place library and reads to her children, Tori, 5, and Tayrnce, 3, while they dig in to their free lunches. If they are worried about getting their next meal, she said, “It makes it harder to learn. CreditMaddie McGarvey for The New York Times Participating sites must be in an area where at least 50 percent of students get free or reduced-price meals at school. The Marysville Public Library serves free summer meals to children under this pavilion. “With eight people in this family, and five under 18, it really helps.”
“We come Monday through Friday, unless there’s an unforeseeable catastrophe,” said Lorrie Spraggins, 58, who lives nearby with her daughter and grandchildren. Then LeeAnn McNabb, the branch manager, summoned children, one by one, to get cantaloupe slices, an apple, a roll, milk and the warm entree. Older kids, lanky from growth spurts, first beelined for the internet, then wrote their names down to get the day’s meal - macaroni with ground beef - after a gentle reminder from Kevin Collett, a library services assistant.Ī woman from a nearby church - the program sponsor - delivered lunch.
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One recent Thursday, most of the pint-size patrons signed up for free lunch even before reserving a computer. Usually, two or three dozen show up, but occasionally, up to 70 do.ĭuring the summer, they come to this tiny branch in Elmwood Place, a village in greater Cincinnati, for “Captain Underpants,” air-conditioning and, lately, a hot meal. MWOOD PLACE, Ohio - Before opening their doors at noon, the librarians squeeze tables and chairs between the book stacks to prepare for the onslaught of hungry children. Credit Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times Children lined up on July 12 for free lunches outside the Marysville Public Library in Marysville, Ohio.
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