Modesto City Schools to offer free lunches this summer. How can students qualify?

Taylor Johnson
·3 min read

When you head to a park in Modesto between 10:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. weekdays, you might see Modesto City Schools employees handing out sandwiches and burgers to young people.

This is a part of the districts’ free summer lunch program, created to help address food insecurity in the younger generation when school is out.

The free lunches have been delivered to about 1,300 students each summer in recent years.

Since the end of May, there have been 23 locations where people age 18 or younger could get free meals Mondays through Fridays.

What’s on the menu

  • Monday: grilled cheese sandwich

  • Tuesday: turkey and cheese sandwich with garden salsa Sun Chips

  • Wednesday: corn dogs

  • Thursday: twin cheeseburgers

  • Friday: summer lunch kit with tortilla chips.

All lunches include 1% milk or nonfat chocolate milk, seasonal fruit, fresh vegetables, and condiments. All breads are whole grain and the meals are subject to change.

The program runs on weekdays until July 31, excluding the July Fourth holiday. There are no income, registration or identification requirements to receive a meal.

Each site will serve lunch during a 15- or 20-minute window, and children must eat at the site.

Nutrition services worker Rick Borns checks the temperature of the food before serving lunch as part of the Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Nutrition services worker Rick Borns checks the temperature of the food before serving lunch as part of the Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Free lunch locations and times

  • Coffee/Claratina Park, 4400 Highlights Way, 10:45-11 a.m.

  • Davis Park, 2701 Park Ave., 11:45 a.m.-noon

  • Downey Park, 1200 Brighton Ave., 10:45-11 a.m.

  • Dryden Park - Boys and Girls Club, 925 Sunset Ave., 12:20-12:35 p.m.

  • East La Loma Park, 2001 Edgebrook Drive, 12:20-12:35 p.m.

  • Everett Park, 1548 Mount Vernon Drive, 12:15-12:30 p.m.

  • Fairview Park, Modoc and Tuscon avenues, 11:15-11:30 a.m.

  • George Rogers Park, 1650 Hillside Drive, 12:55-1:10 p.m.

  • Maddux Youth Center, 615 Sierra Drive, 10:55-11:10 a.m.

  • Mancini Park, 1204 River Road., 12:20-12:35 p.m.

  • Mark Twain Park, 1201 California Ave., 12:15-12:30 p.m.

  • Marshall Park, 440 Sutter Ave., 11:40 a.m.-noon

  • Pine Ridge Apartments, 1301 Richland Ave., 11:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m.

  • Red Shield Center, 1649 Las Vegas St., 10:45-11 a.m.

  • Riverside Park, 420 N. Riverside Drive, 11:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m.

  • Roosevelt Park, 801 W. Orangeburg Ave., 1-1:15 p.m.

  • Shackelford, 100 School Ave., 11:15-11:30 a.m.

  • Sharp Park, 1900 Torrid Ave., 12:55-1:10 p.m.

  • Sonoma Park, 1316 McGuire Drive, 11:15-11:30 a.m.

  • St. Salazar Park, 2017 Salazar Circle, 11:45 a.m.-noon

  • Sunrise Village, 433 S. Seventh St., 10:40-10:55 a.m.

  • Triangle (Crommelin) Park, 2400 Crommelin Ave., 12:45-1 p.m.

  • Wesson Ranch Park, 1001 W. Union Ave., 11:15-11:30 a.m.

Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program, which the district has operated since 1995, is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. The department created the federal program to ensure children 18 and younger can access meals during school vacations lasting 15 or more consecutive days.

To participate through the Community Eligibility Provision, which provides the School Nutrition Program, schools must have more than 25% of students identified as homeless, migrant, foster, or enrolled in federally-funded Head Start programs.

Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Nutrition services employee Lilianna Trujillo, left, serves up lunch to children during Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Nutrition services employee Lilianna Trujillo, left, serves up lunch to children during Modesto City Schools’ summer lunch program at Mark Twain Park on California Avenue in Modesto, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2024.