School is out; healthy meals still here

Kids are excited for summer break, but for thousands of families in Colorado Springs no school also means no food.

Although classes are over, free and healthy lunches will still be served.

“Some people think, oh thank heavens school is out! But they don’t see the families that just don’t have food in the kitchen,” said Janine Russel, District 11’s Assistand Food Service director.

Last summer, D-11 served 79,000 meals to kids in low-income areas.

This week they’re prepping and chopping, getting ready to do it all over again.

“Sometimes when the kids come up to me i want to start crying, it just tells me how important these meals are to families,” said Russel.

Most kids can’t make it all the way to school to get their meal. That’s why food is going straight to them.

“We thought, if they can’t get to us, we will go to them. The mobile route folks are passionate. They get to see firsthand how they impact lives,” Russel said.

D-11 has expanded its free summer food program to 34 locations. Breakfast and lunch meals are free to anyone ages 1-18.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. We don’t ask names, we don’t ask incomes, you just line up. There is a huge need. We’ll hear from kids, there’s no food in the house, or my dad got laid off, so this program, it means a lot to us,” Russel said.

To learn more about the summer meal program and to find out the meal locations, just head to their website below.

http://www.d11.org/FNS/Pages/SummerMeals.aspx