Summer meal programs keep kids fed

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — It used to be that summertime meant no school lunch for some children.
Programs in Snohomish, Monroe and Everett make sure hunger doesn’t strike. They’re each opening starting June 27 to everyone under 18.
The Snohomish effort brings lunches in a food truck to rural areas away from bus lines such as the Circle H Mobile Home Park, a neighborhood with more than 50 children who live north of Snohomish city limits a half-mile away from Three Lakes Road. The district also sends a food truck to the Three Rivers Mobile Home Park in the Echo Lake area.
In-town, Snohomish sites with breakfast and lunch are the Snohomish Boys and Girls Club, 402 Second St., and Snohomish High School, 1516 Fifth St. Lunches are served at the Snohomish Aquatic Center, 516 Maple Ave.
Breakfast’s from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the high school and Boys and Girls Club; lunchtime varies, but will be 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the high school, and run from 12:25 to 12:45 p.m. at the aquatic center.
Snohomish Schools began its summer meal program in 2010, and last year served more than 15,000 meals.
The district will let students come to all of its elementary school libraries once a week every Wednesday starting July 6 from 9-11 a.m. to borrow books. Adults must come with the student.

 Monroe
Monroe’s program begins June 27 at Frank Wagner Elementary, 115 Dickinson Road in central Monroe. Lunch is served weekdays from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
“No certification or paperwork is required and all meals must be consumed on-site,” the district wrote.

 Everett
Everett’s program starts June 27 at seven different locations across the city.
These are:
• The Cascade Boys & Girls Club, 7600 Cascade Drive
• Cascade High School, 801 E. Casino Rd.
• Emerson Elementary, 8702 7th Ave SE, Everett
• The Everett Boys and Girls Club, 2316 12th St.
• Evergreen Middle School, 7621 Beverly Ln.
• Hawthorne Elementary, 1110 Poplar St., and
• Silver Lake Elementary, 12815 Bothell-Everett Highway
Most sites open with breakfast starting around 8 or 9 a.m. Lunch starts typically at noon, but some sites host lunch at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m.
The full list of service times is at www.everettsd.org/summermeals or call the district’s food service office at 425-385-4380.
Each program is open to all children 18 and under and there are no income restrictions to get food.
Last year because of the pandemic, meals were given through kits to-go versus coming in for food.
“We’re so excited to be back to normal, so come and have a meal,” Shelly Mackie, a food and nutrition supervisor for Everett Public Schools, said.
In 2021, the Everett effort gave out 7,300 meal kits, totaling 102,000 servings of food, Mackie said.

Find school meal programs with a quick text
Need info fast? You can text the word “food” or “comida” to 304-304. It will auto-respond asking for a ZIP code or home address, and if you text it your ZIP code, it will auto-respond back with nearby summer meal locations, mealtimes and phone numbers. 304-304 is a new hotline number for this year, replacing 877-877.