Summer food program feeds more than bodies
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT
More than 4,000 youngsters are receiving free lunch and snack this summer through a program operated by Hillsborough County Aging Services and funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s not too late to sign up, and it can be done on site. The program runs through Aug. 3. Photos from Hillsborough County.
It’s not just about free lunches. The summer food program, run by Hillsborough County, provides the only meal of the day for some youngsters throughout the region.
And while they are getting a free lunch and nutritious snack, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they are also learning about good nutrition and making good choices.
This year, the summer food program is serving around 4,000 children, zero through 18 years old at 61 locations.
“We already do this for our wonderful seniors, so we took over this program in 2012, because we were already feeding the seniors,” said Claudia Walton, program coordinator for nutrition and wellness for Hillsborough County Aging Services.
“You don’t wait until you are 50 to start eating, so we teach food safety, nutrition, what they are eating, measurements and portion sizes and what veggies and fruits are doing inside of their body,” Walton said. “It just becomes a part of you. We’ve definitely changed some minds.
“Last year I did a presentation on how much sugar is in typical snacks like fruit rollups and chewy candy. A little boy was eating a sugary candy, and he put it away. I got tingles all over my body. While I was talking he was chewing away. He looked at it and said ‘Ma’am, I can’t eat this, it’s got too much sugar,’” Walden said.
Some stories aren’t so happy.
“One kid that we fed from the Boys & Girls Club in Brandon — that was the only meal he was getting,” recalls Audra Lewis, a teacher who has spent the last four summers working with the program. “He lived with his grandmother who only bought cereal, so he came for both lunch and snack each day. This past week he has not shown up, so everyone is worried about him,” Lewis said.
“The meals give the kids an opportunity to replace the school lunch meal while school is out.”
Several of the regular staff are teachers, and the children get a kick out of it when they see their own teacher in a different role, Lewis said.
Most of the children enrolled in the program are in county or City of Tampa summer camp programs, but there are also walk-ups and some whose parents drop them off for lunch. They are referred by parents, churches and other agencies, Walden said.
“Some have thanked me for sending delicious food to their park,” she said. “We had one 6-year-old who said she didn’t think she’d have food over the weekend and if she hadn’t eaten at the site that day, she would have had nothing all day.”
There are no financial requirements for the program, but it does serve mostly impoverished children.
The lunches are prepared fresh each day by Hillsborough County Schools Center for Nutrition and Culinary Services, then trucked to the various sites. They are well-rounded meals. A typical lunch may include a turkey and cheese sandwich, a strawberry fruit cup, cheddar crackers, low-fat milk and a snack of Goldfish crackers.
“The parents can go right to the sites to sign the children up,” Walden said.
Sites in the South Shore area are:
• Apollo Beach Recreation Center, 664 Golf and Sea Blvd., Apollo Beach.
• Brandon Skate Park, 5720 Providence Road, Brandon.
• Gardenville Recreation Center, 6219 Symmes Road, Gibsonton.
• Riverview Boys and Girls Club, 6809 Krycul Ave., Riverview.
• Ruskin Recreation Center, 901 6th St. S.E., Ruskin
Lunch time varies for each site, but are between 11 a.m. and noon.
