Michelle Martinez has often worried about what her kids will eat while on summer vacation.
But for the past few years, she’s known lunch is taken care of thanks to the Denver’s Summer Food Service program.
“Itap really a big relief,” said Martinez who has two children and was a single parent until recently. “There’s been summers when I don’t know what I’m going to do with them and I know I can take them somewhere and they’ll eat.”
The city’s program served 69,149 meals to Denver youth last summer and has served more than 500,000 since its inception in 2012. This year, the city’s Office of Children’s Affairs is hoping to crack 70,500 meals.
, the year was deemed successful because it served more lunch and dinner meals to youth.
“Although we did not get to 70,000, we wound up serving more substantial meals,” said Susan Gallo, director of health initiatives for the Office of Children’s Affairs.
The program has 20 sites where youth age 18 and younger can go for a free breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack during the day. Most of the sites are city recreation centers or some Denver schools. The program runs through Aug. 19.
Other sites, such as Girls Inc. of Metro Denver , have meals as part of the program for their daily attendees.
The program is for all youth, but the sites are targeted in areas where the nearby schools have at least 50 percent of the student population on free or reduced-priced lunch. Many of the sites see up to 75 percent on free or reduced-priced lunch.
Menu items and service areas can be found at .
Gallo said that while the program’s staff has been reduced from two full-time people to 1.5, the goals have remained the same, and she hopes that serving quality, healthy meals will bring more kids back.
“If we’re not doing whatap right by them, they’ll know and we won’t have those kids,” she said.
Martinez, whose son and daughter eat lunch Monday-Thursday at Girls Inc. and the La Alma Recreation Center, said the program has been huge for her and has alleviated one big concern every summer.
“Now that I’m working in the summer, I know they’re taken care of and know they’re getting solid meals and snacks,” Martinez said.