Summer vacation may be the best time of the year for kids, but it can be tough on working parents to provide lunches for their children during the day.
The Salvation Army is partnering with the borough’s parks and recreation department to keep the community’s children nourished and active throughout the summer.
The program, which started about two years ago, will provide lunches Monday through Friday to kids entering kindergarten through fifth grade, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 1 to July 31.
In past years, kids would pick up meal vouchers at The Salvation Army, then head downtown to J&W’s, Nick’s Pizza or City Market Deli to redeem them. This year, the meals will be served in-person. If enough people volunteer, the organization hopes to set up two lunch stations — one at the church and one at the Shoemaker Bay shelter — to better serve residents out the road.
On Fridays the program will be held at the community center gym, so that participants can play, socialize and eat pizza together each week.
“This year, we’re attempting to work with the parks and recreation department in an effort to get kids more active,” said Lt. Jon Tollerud of The Salvation Army. “We try to listen to what’s going on and try to adapt it to make it a better program every year.”
The Salvation Army is still working out restaurant partnerships and funding for this year’s program. Grants and outside donations subsidize the meals, which cost between $10,000 and $12,000 for a single summer.
“We’ve noticed that nationally, not just here in Wrangell, food security is such a huge component of where the world is right now,” said Tollerud. “A lot of families if they’re working full time … it’s hard to get home to get the kids lunch. We just wanted to stand in the gap there and see what we could do to help the community in that way.”
Bonnie Ritchie’s three kids have been taking advantage of the program since it started. “The lunch program has been great for my family,” Ritchie said. “My kids walk to The Salvation Army, pick up their lunch tickets and go down and get a free lunch. … It was awesome. I didn’t have to worry about making their lunch and it got them out and about.”
She’s looking forward to the new Friday pizza and open gym setup this summer. “I’m excited to see that,” she said. “I think it’s a great place for them to get their energy out.”
The program has room for 50 kids going into kindergarten through fifth grade. Parents can sign their kids up by calling The Salvation Army at 907-874-3753. Registration will be open through May 30 and is available on a first-come-first-served basis.
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