The Eat United Summer Food Service Program is back in Crookston again this summer, starting on Monday, June 6. The program is a free Lunch Program that serves meals to all kids ages 0-18. The program runs every Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Ray Ecklund Park Complex in Highland Park on a first-come, first-served basis, excluding the week of July 4 through the 7.
This is the eighth year the Service is being offered and is run by the Crookston Public School District in partnership with the United Way of Crookston and is fully funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program is made to help extend the meal service beyond the school years for students that need it for food, security, or financial reasons. But it can also be used to help parents feed their children a hot, healthy meal rather than having parents worry about making or preparing a meal every day for their children over the summer if they are unable to due to having multiple children or if they work full time. “We don’t ask questions regarding income. we allow it for everyone in the community to purchase food in it,” Food Service Director Anna Ogaard-Brekken explained. “We realize that there are needs beyond financial needs. A lot of times in the summer, it’s a convenience too. Speaking from personal experience, I have four kids, and the older ones participate in the Summer Food Service Program because of convenience. I work, and I don’t have time to make them meals every day. So, instead of eating bowls of cereal or sandwiches, they’ll be able to bike to the park or go there after a summer activity that’s offered at the park complex, and they’ll be able to use it for convenience,” she added. The program begins on Monday, June 6, and goes until Thursday, July 28. Brekken mentioned that the program used to run into August but that they chose to stop running it before August as they begin preparations for the 2022-23 School Year in mid-July and staff training in mid-August. And due to hectic preparations for the upcoming school year and dropping volunteer participation, the program will stop running at the end of July.
The Service is again returning to the Lion’s Shelter in the Ray Ecklund Park Complex in Highland Park, but this time is allowing children and families to eat at the park rather than use the Grab-and-Go system. “This year, we are back at the Park. We had taken a hiatus from the Park for the last couple of years because of COVID, so Grab-and-Go Meals will no longer be offered this summer, and they will be offered at the Ray Ecklund Park Complex, underneath the Lion’s Shelter,” Anna Ogaard-Brekken explained. “So, we’re kind of back to our old ways of doing the Summer Food Service Program, where we’re back to serving at the Park, and children must be present in order to receive a meal, and they must be consumed on-site,” she added. Brekken also noted that Federal Guidelines state that students must be present in order to receive their meal and must eat the meal on-site, although she noted that a single fruit, vegetable, or milk carton could be taken off-site for later consumption. She also pointed out that each student can only get one meal for themselves and cannot reserve a meal for someone else or take one with them for someone else that is not present at the park, like a sibling or friend. She also noted that parents are not allowed to eat off of their children’s trays as the program is specifically for children, but if anyone over the age of 18 wishes to purchase a meal, they can for $5.
The menu for the Service Program will include food items like Ham and Cheeseburgers, Chicken Patties, Hot Dogs, Chicken Strips and Nuggets, Corn Dogs, Fruit, a Vegetable, and a carton of milk. Brekken also mentioned that they may include items like Deli sandwiches, although she explained that they usually aren’t a very popular meal. She explained that the program aims to serve meals that are similar to the hot foods students receive at schools and meals that are also easy to transport. . “I would like to point out that our menus are subject to change without notice if we have delivery or supply chain issues,” Anna Ogaard-Breeken explained. “So, if it says hamburgers, but we didn’t get any, then there may be a different option that day,” she added.
Anna would also like to mention all of the volunteer and funding organizations that helped make this program possible, saying that donations given to these organizations like the United Way of Crookston help fund programs like this. Volunteers coming to support this program come from organizations like the United Way of Crookston, River View Health, American Crystal Sugar, Polk County Public Health, AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Trinity Lutheran Church, and City Hall. The Eat United Summer Food Service Program will begin its services on Monday, June 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Monday through Thursday until July 28 at the Ray Ecklund Park Complex in Highland Park. The menu for the summer can be found below or by going to www.crookston.k12.mn.us/projects/Eat-United-Summer-Food-Program-2021, along with a flyer listing the rules of the Service.
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