By Samantha Wadley
Children all over San Diego are able to enjoy fun games and free lunches this summer thanks to San Diego Unified’s Summer Fun Café program.
The program, which had only six locations when it began 10 years ago, now offers 69 sites where children ages 2 to 18 can enjoy a healthy meal, as well as engage in fun physical activities throughout the summer. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Today’s BBQ kickoff event will be held at the Skyline Hills Community Park from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be free for the whole family thanks to the WalMart Foundation.
“It’s a great place for children, especially in low-income areas where the parents don’t have the money to support sending their kids away to day camp for a week,” said Gary Petill, Director of the District’s Food Services program. “The kids can go one day a week, five days a week or everyday throughout the whole summer.”
Last summer the program successfully served 300,000 children and this year expects to reach 350,000 with the “Power Up Your Summer” theme.
Each lunch follows the federal nutritional guidelines by including a sandwich, fruit and juice. In late July, 35 of the locations, mainly schools, will also start offering breakfast.
According to Petill, a lot of the children fed by this program are eating their only meal each day because of the Summer Fun Café.
Click here for a list of locations
Haga clic aquí para una lista de localidades