Where to find free summer meals for youth in Lane County
While school is out, many kids who rely on free and reduced meals may have a hard time finding affordable alternatives.
But children age 18 and younger have free summer lunch options across Lane County through organizations and school districts.
Parents, guardians and caretakers can accompany children to meal sites listed below. Most meal sites require children to eat there, as there is no grab-and-go option.
Marilyn Rockwell brought two of her grandchildren, both entering second grade, to Willamette High recently to get their free lunches. She said this was her first time at the Bethel School District summer meal site, but she has tried other services in the past.
"We babysit six grandkids some days, so it helps," Rockwell said. "It's a good program."
19-year-old Yanely Samano, who graduated from Willamette High in 2022, wasn't eligible for a free lunch, but she and her grandmother, Jaque Pineda, brought along five cousins to take advantage of the program.
Samano and her young sister walk daily over to her grandmother's, and together with their cousins, they all make their way to nearby Willamette High for the program. They plan to do this throughout the summer.
"It's nice because then we just get to hang out and then they (the kids) get to play with each other afterwards," Samano said. "It's just a nice way to also get them walking around and active."
Pineda, speaking in Spanish, said the program is great for helping out the kids and teens in the community.
FOOD for Lane County
All children 18 and under eat lunch for free through FOOD for Lane County's Summer Food Program.
Employees serve meals at parks and community centers throughout Lane County. On average, 1,00 meals are distributed daily across 32 locations. In 2021, the FFLC Summer Food Program provided 27,707 meals.
With the tagline "Hunger doesn’t take a vacation," FFLC aims to support children through the summer, many of whom rely on schools' free and reduced lunches for their daily meals.
"While these kids are on vacation, they're hungry," Kellcie Mullaney, program communications specialist for FFLC, said. "They need to eat now, they need to be fed, they need to be nourished in order to thrive and learn and play."
The Summer Food Program runs from June 26 to Aug. 25. All sites serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and are only available for on-site consumption — no grab-and-go options.
Find a location:
Acorn Park, 1501 Buck St., Eugene.
Brewer Park, 1820 Brewer Lane, Eugene.
Petersen Barn Park, Berntzen Road and Royal Avenue, Eugene.
Sladden Park, 925 Cheshire Ave., Eugene.
State Street Park, Dakota Street and Burnett Avenue, Eugene.
Sheldon Park, 2445 Willakenzie Road, Eugene.
Amazon Park, 22 Amazon Pkwy., Eugene.
Emerald Park, 1400 Lake Dr., Eugene.
Skinner Butte Park, 248 Cheshire Ave., Eugene.
Bob Keefer Center, 250 S. 32nd St., Springfield.
Willamalane Park, 1276 G St., Springfield.
Meadow Park, 851 Mill St., Springfield.
Guy Lee Park, 890 Darlene Ave., Springfield.
Island Park, 200 W. Blvd., Springfield.
Splash! Lively Park, 6100 Thurston Road, Springfield.
Thurston Park, 747 64th St., Springfield.
William S. Fort Memorial Park, 300 58th Pl., Springfield.
Camp Kaboom @ Ridgeview Elementary, 526 66th St., Springfield.
Dorris Ranch Camp (Discovery Camp), Springfield.
Arc Park, 4181 E St., Springfield.
Springfield Library, 225 Fifth St. Suite 301, Springfield.
Hayden Bridge Landing, 1975 Fifth St., Springfield.
Maplewood Meadows Homes For Good, 2855 Matt Dr., Eugene.
Jacob's Lane Homes For Good, 3450 Jacobs Lane, Eugene.
Genesis Reading Camp, Eugene.
Alvadore Church, 27373 Eighth St., Junction City.
Laurel Elementary School, 1401 Laurel St., Junction City.
Laurel Park, 1515 Rose St., Junction City.
Junction City High School, 1135 W. 6th Ave., Junction City.
Community Center, 175 W. Seventh Ave., Junction City.
Holt Park, Harvey Road N, Creswell.
Veneta City Park, 25192 E. Broadway Ave., Veneta.
For more information and meal site locations outside of Lane County, visit www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/childnutrition/sfsp/Pages/Summer-Food-Oregon.aspx/ or call 2-1-1 to find a food site.
The summer meals are prepared at Lane Community College by volunteers then driven out to the 32 meal sites. Mullaney said FFLC is in desperate need of volunteers to help package these lunches. She added that food handlers cards are encouraged, but not required. Volunteering information can be found at www.mobilize.us/foodforlanecounty/event/567899/.
FOOD for Lane County also has multiple food pantries across Lane County that offers a three- to five-day supply of nutritionally balanced groceries for eligible families. More information on locations and eligibility can be found at foodforlanecounty.org/find-a-food-pantry.
Bethel School District
Through the summer, Bethel will be serving free breakfast and lunch five days a week for all children 18 and under.
The program began on June 26. Kids don't have to attend any specific school based on where they are enrolled, but meals must be eaten on-site.
Cary Weeks, who works in nutrition services at Bethel, said that all the summer staff are nutrition staff that voluntary work through the summer. They come from all over the district to participate.
The summer program is a bit different from normal school lunches. At Willamette, all the meal components are laid out for children to choose what they want. Kids get on their tip-toes to make peer over the edge of the counter and make their selections. Guardians take photos of the next day's menu to remember what will be served.
"We're able to offer them like a well-balanced meal," said Tina Kent, one of the nutrition staff at Willamette who works at Danebo Elementary during the school year. "It is nice because sometimes it gets rough, as far as your income, for people that are staying home now. It's nice to see all the kids to the families that come."
There are three locations:
Prairie Mountain School, 5305 Royal Ave., 8:30 to 9 a.m. breakfast and 12 to 12:30 p.m. lunch
Meadow View School, 1855 Legacy St., 8:30 to 9 a.m. breakfast and 12 to 12:30 p.m. lunch
Willamette High School, 1801 Echo Hollow Rd., 9 to 9:30 a.m. breakfast and 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. lunch
Prairie Mountain will serve meals through Aug. 11, while Meadow View and Willamette's programs end Aug. 4.
Eugene 4J
From July 10 to Aug. 18, Eugene School District 4J will serve breakfast and lunch to all children 0-18. Breakfast service will from from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch service will be from noon to 12:30 p.m.
Children must be present to receive food and must eat the food on-site.
There will be four locations:
Arts & Technology Academy, 1650 W. 22nd Ave.
Holt Elementary School, 770 Calvin St.
River Road/El Camino del Rio, 120 W. Hilliard Lane
Roosevelt Middle School, 500 E. 24th Ave. (last day is Friday, Aug. 11)
More info at www.4j.lane.edu/nutrition/summermeals/.
South Lane School District
In South Lane School District, children 0-18 eat free lunch five days a week from June 26 to Aug. 25 at the following locations:
Bohemia Park, S 10th St., Cottage Grove, 10:45 to 11:45 a.m.
Bohemia Elementary, 721 S R St., Cottage Grove, 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.
Cottage Grove High School, 1375 S River Rd., Cottage Grove, 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
For more info on South Lane, call 541-942-3381 or visit www.slane.k12.or.us/.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Summer meal programs: Find free meals for youth in Lane County
