Free meals for children 18 and younger will be available Monday though Friday this summer at seven locations in Port Angeles and seven in Sequim.
The Summer Meals Program is sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula from Tuesday through Aug. 29 (there is no service on July 4).
The program is funded through the USDA to continue to provide food assistance to students who receive free meals during the school year. The breakfast at the Boys & Girls Club Port Angeles Turner Unit is grab-and-go; sack meals are provided at lunch.
Boys & Girls Clubs’ staff said they provided 21,448 lunches last summer, with 9,639 in Sequim and 11,809 in Port Angeles. They provided 5,157 snacks for club members (3,570 in Sequim and 1,587 in Port Angeles) as well.
There will be a sandwich board and/or banner at each location to identify where the meals are distributed.
Sequim
Sequim locations operate Monday through Friday from June 20 through Aug. 23, except July 4.
• Boys & Girls Club, Turner Unit, 400 W. Fir St.; breakfast, 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; lunch, noon to 12:30 p.m.
• Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., noon to 12:45 p.m.
• Elk Creek Apartments, 90 S. Rhodefer Road, 11:30 a.m. to noon
• Greywolf Elementary, 171 Carlsborg Road, 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. (Tuesdays and Thursdays only)
• Mountain View Court Apartments, 303 S. Fifth St., noon to 12:20 p.m.
• SeaBreeze Apartments, 525 McCurdy Road, 12:10 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• YMCA of Sequim, 610 N. Fifth Ave., 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Port Angeles
Port Angeles locations operate Monday through Friday, from Tuesday through Aug. 29, except July 4.
• Port Angeles Boys & Girls Club, 2301 S. Francis St.; breakfast, 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.; lunch, noon to 1 p.m.
• Dream Park (Erickson Playfield), 298-300 S. Race St., noon to 1 p.m.
• Evergreen Family Village, 2203 W. 16th St.; lunch 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
• Jefferson Elementary School, 218 E. 12th St.; lunch 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
• Monroe Playfield at Roosevelt Elementary School, 106 Monroe Road, lunch noon to 12:20 p.m.
• Lincoln High School, 304 E. Park Ave., lunch noon to 12:15 p.m.
• Shane Park, 613 G. St.; lunch noon to 1 p.m.
Additional options
• Sequim families and adults can access Sequim Food Bank, 144. W. Alder St., from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, call the Sequim Food Bank at 360-683-1205 or visit sequimfoodbank.org.
• Port Angeles families and adults can access the Port Angeles Food Bank, 632 N. Oakridge Drive, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call the Port Angeles Food Bank at 360-452-8568 or visit portangelesfoodbank.org.
Volunteer
Volunteers for the Summer Lunch Program are needed. If interested, contact the Boys & Girls Clubs at 360-683-8095 or Jan Eadie at sfspcommunity coordinatorcck@bgc-op.org.
Student interns
Through the Boys & Girls Club’s Workforce Readiness Program, the Port Angeles and Sequim clubs hired 14 student workers (nine in Sequim), ages 14-18, to help prepare, package and deliver meals. The program offers youths the opportunity to gain time management, teamwork and employment skills through real-world experience and gain an appreciation for community service.
The students will work three hours a day, five days a week, for 10 weeks and earn minimum wage.
For more about the clubs and the Summer Food Program, call 360-683-8095 or visit bgc-op.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
