BRATTLEBORO — Free and nutritious meals will be available to youth 18 and younger at over 20 sites throughout Windham County this summer.
Meals will be served from Monday, June 18, through Friday, August 24, in Brattleboro, and in mid-summer in other communities. Lunches will be served at all sites and breakfast or a late afternoon snack will also be served at some sites.
“The summer lunch program is expanding through creative partnerships around Windham County,” said Carmen Derby, executive director of United Way of Windham County and co-chair of the Hunger Council of Windham County. “Local schools are partnering with service organizations so that no child goes hungry this summer.”
Dave Coughlin, director of the Windham Regional Career Center, is coordinating food preparation and delivery to 12 or more sites in Brattleboro.
“We are hiring six to eight high school students to work part-time shifts in food preparation and delivery alongside our professional food services group staff. It is a 'go-to-work program' with real-world schedules and expectations.”
In 2011, the program in Brattleboro served more than 20,000 meals to almost 500 individual children during the summer, according to Coughlin.
“We know that this is one-half of the children currently eligible for the school food programs,” he said, “so we would like to be able to reach even more children this summer.”
The schedule of Summer Food Program sites is being distributed to school youth around the county. Families are encouraged to identify the site closest to their homes and plan for their children to regularly eat lunch, and possibly breakfast, at that site.
There are no income requirements or registration for the program; all youth 18 and younger are welcome to eat at the sites providing the meals. The program is funded by the USDA through Vermont's Department of Education. Based on reimbursement, the more meals served, the more support is available to cover the costs of the program.
The Deerfield Valley is participating in the summer food program for the first time this year. The Deerfield Valley Rotary Club became involved after joining with the United Way to deliver flood relief assistance.
Arlene Palmiter, a Deerfield Valley Rotary member, is organizing delivery of the meals prepared by Iron Chef Lonny Paige to Deerfield Valley Elementary School, Twin Valley High School, and Twin Valley Middle School, starting July 9. Rotarians will be mentoring high school students as they make the deliveries. The Deerfield Valley Recreation Program will provide activities in conjunction with the food program.
Other community partners involved in the Summer Food Program include the Brattleboro Boys and Girls Club, Brattleboro Middle School, Clark Canal Association, Community High School, Ledgewood Heights, Moore Court, the New England Youth Theatre, Title I at Academy School, Westgate, and the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department summer program at Memorial Park.
Leland & Gray High School, Our Place Drop-in Center in Bellows Falls, and schools in Bellows Falls, Athens, Grafton, Westminster, and Putney are also coordinating programs.
For more information about the Summer Food Program, contact Vermontfoodhelp.com, or call 211.