LYNN — Across the city, 24 sites will provide students with free meals throughout the summer to help mitigate child hunger and cultivate child engagement.
The program is open to all students ages 18 and younger and does not require identification, proof of financial need, or registration.
“Even when school is out, you can enjoy a free lunch,” Department of Public Works Associate Commissioner Lisa Nerich said. “Children and teens can just show up at one of the designated parks during the scheduled meal time for the free-lunch program.”
Though some sites opened on June 24, all sites officially opened on July 8. The program will run until Aug. 9.
The sites include Washington School, Ford School, Harrington School, Hood School, Callahan School, Connery School, Lynn Woods School, Ingalls School, Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Tracy School, Lynn Tech Annex, Marshall Middle School, Gowdy Park, Flax Pond, Ames Playground, Clark Street Playground, High Rock Playground, Sagamore Street Playground, Warren Street Playground, and Barry Park Playground.
The YMCA of Metro North will also offer free meals at Neptune Towers, Curwin Circle, and 40 Neptune Blvd, where the Y is located.
The sites will offer free lunches and breakfasts. Free lunches will be available at all of the parks and all of the schools except Lynn Woods, Connery, and Callahan. Free breakfasts will be available at all of the schools. The YMCA will offer both free breakfasts and lunches.
The meals, which are funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), vary in ingredients and range across cuisines. For example, on July 24, the program will provide sweet Thai chili chicken with coleslaw, apple slices, and vegetables, but on July 29, students will be offered a turkey and cheese sandwich on a whole-wheat bun with dried fruit and 1% milk.
Nerich said more than 100 students participate in the program at the city’s parks. She said coordinators communicate with each other to determine how many lunches are needed at each site. If lunches are left over at the end of the day, they are carried over to the next, she said.
She said the program also represents an “opportunity for other children to meet and spend time with other children at the lunch site.”
The city’s program is part of a larger effort by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the USDA, and Project Bread called “Summer Eats” to provide free breakfasts and lunches at locations across the state. The Peabody Public Library and Saugus Family YMCA will also offer free meals.
All sites will be open from Monday through Friday. To find contact and address information for the sites, visit projectbread.org/summer-eats-program.
