Summertime is upon us, and the kids are finishing up with the school year. It’s an exciting time for kids as they can relax a little, make plans with friends, sleep in, and enjoy the warm weather with fun activities. For parents, it can be a time of worry. What are my kids doing while I’m at work, are they sleeping all day and staying up all night, or maybe even, are they eating well during the day. The Crookston Public School District, and the United Way, along with the USDA are working hard to ensure that options are available for kids during the week and making it a little easier for parents to feel comfortable in knowing their kids are having a healthy meal when they aren’t always able to be home to provide that themselves.
The Eat United Summer Food Service Program is gearing up again to feed youth in the community 18 and younger. How long has this valuable resource been available to the youth of Crookston? “The Eat Untied Summer Food Service Program started about 12 years ago, this will my third summer with the program,” says Crookston Public School Food Service Director Emily Scheresky. “It is a partnership between the school district, as well as the United Way and the USDA.” The program runs from Monday, June 9 through July 31, excluding June 19, and the week of the Fourth of July. The program runs Monday through Thursday each week. “Anyone can come and attend and get a free meal if they are 18 or under in age,” says Scheresky. “If an adult wants to eat with their child they can get a meal as well, for $5.”
There are a few rules that need to be followed. First, the food needs to be consumed on site; there is one exception according to Scheresky. “One piece of the meal can be taken with, for example, a piece of fruit or milk if they didn’t finish, that can be taken off site.” Children who attend the free lunch program also should be there between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., which is when the meal service takes place. It is understood, Scheresky says, that sometimes a child is running behind because of a certain activity of course. “If they are there a little bit late because they have things like softball practice or other parks & rec activities they can come a little bit after that but, we start kind of cleaning up at 12:30 p.m., unless we know there is a group coming.”
You can feel good about what is being served to the kids if they attend the lunch program. They follow nutritional guidelines when putting together the menus. “We follow the Summer Food Service Program USDA guidelines. We ensure that there is a meat/meat equivalent like protein based component as well as grains and then there are fruit and vegetables on the menu as well,” says Scheresky. “We provide milk as well and those are all parts of the requirements for the actual program.”
The program has done well over the years Scheresky says and she encourages families to take advantage of the program. “I would love for you to come. The more people that come, it makes it easier for me to advocate for the program and to continue to run it. The more students who attend, the more children who participate, the more successful the program will be.”
The Eat United Summer Food Service program again runs Monday through Thursday from June 9 to July 31. There will be no service on June 19 and the entire week of the Fourth of July. Meals are free to all 18 and under and are served at the Ray Ecklund Park Complex in the Lion’s Shelter. If you have any questions, you can contact Emily Scheresky at 218-281-5313, ext. 7.