Free summer lunch program begins

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Summer vacation is a kids dream. No school, sleeping late, and playing all day are some of the perks, but one negative aspect is the lack of access to food.

Zanesville City Schools is working to make sure kids eat this summer with their free summer lunch program. The lunches served at 20 different sites throughout the city operate in rain or shine.

“We are starting our summer lunch program. It’s day one of 8 weeks of serving lunch to our kids. We start delivering at 11 and we’re done by 12:30,” said Vicki Wheeler the Food Services Director for Zanesville City Schools.

Youth ages one to 18 are eligible for the lunches. Volunteers provide the kids with hand sanitizer before they receive their lunches. Wheeler said for some kids this is the only meal they may get a day.

“We feel that the kids need to eat in the summer as well as they need to do during their lunches during the school year,” said Wheeler. “So we want to continue that healthy eating concept. And also, parents and grandparents, or whatever, work during the summers so it gives the kids make sure they have some food to eat.”

The program will run Monday through Friday through August 3rd. There are also activities at the sites for the kids. Representatives from the John McIntire Library were on hand today giving the kids books and signing them up for a summer reading program.