Free lunches in east valley government schools

Tim Hacker, TribuneHattie Harris brought her four children out Thursday to eat a free lunch and learn about a police motorcycle at Harris Elementary School in Mesa.

Harris plans to come to the Gilbert district school every weekday through the summer to feed her kids for free. The Mesa mom estimates a savings of at least $500.

“They’re always hungry, so this helps,” Harris said. “For them to be able to get a good meal for free, I’m very grateful for it.”

The Gilbert Unified School District, along with Chandler, Mesa and Apache Junction unified school districts, are offering free breakfasts and lunches for children 18 and younger at various locations throughout the East Valley. Children do not have to attend that school. Adults can also purchase a meal for a low price.

The free meals come at no cost to the school districts because the schools are reimbursed for the thousands of meals served through the Summer Food Service Program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Debbie McCarron, Gilbert’s food service director.

“We offer kid-friendly, nutritiously balanced meals that meet all the federal guidelines,” McCarron said. “It’s fun for the kids ... it really helps (families) out.”

With the tough economy, McCarron expects even more families to come out this summer. Gilbert’s free summer meal program began on Tuesday and runs through Aug. 7, depending on the site. Staff members are already serving double the number of meals from last year, McCarron said.

Gilbert offered the free meals last year at three schools, and this year expanded it to 10 sites, adding the free meals at schools with summer programs, McCarron said. Last year, Gilbert served 44,019 meals.

Marsha Bueler of Mesa brought her two children and four young friends to eat lunch Thursday at Harris. The Mesa mom said the kids think it’s “a lot of fun” to eat in the cafeteria, and it makes summertime “easier.”

“Free is always good,” Bueler said. “I think it’s a nice program. It seems to draw out lots of families. And they’re really excited about the police motorcycle.”

Along with the free meals, Gilbert is also hosting a Lunch and Learn series at Harris Elementary, with various activities throughout the summer to entice more families to come out. The other districts have special events planned as well.

On Thursday, Rick Osborn, a traffic officer with the Gilbert Police Department, showed off his BMW police motorcycle to a crowd of curious children and moms at Harris Elementary, talked about the importance of wearing a helmet, and explained the various items in his bulletproof-vest pockets.

Chandler Unified School District will offer free breakfast and lunch from June 8 to July 17 at 10 sites. New this year, Chandler will offer free snacks and dinner at Folley Pool and free breakfast at Arrowhead Pool.

Chandler has two less school sites offering free meals than last summer. Two of the schools weren’t offering summer programs, and it wasn’t cost effective to offer the free meals, said Tristine Bogle, Chandler’s food and nutrition supervisor.

“We’re offering fresh pizza this year (made by Chandler’s food services department),” Bogle said. “We’re hoping to feed a lot of kids.”

Last year, Chandler served 12,059 lunches, 6,951 breakfasts and 1,349 snacks, Bogle said.

The Mesa district offers the largest number of sites, and will serve meals at 27 schools, mainly from June 1-25. The district is offering more sites than last summer because more schools are offering summer programs, said Loretta Zullo, Mesa’s food and nutrition director.

“There’s such a great need in our community,” Zullo said. “Mesa Public Schools is a 50 percent (free and reduced-price lunch) district. If we didn’t have this, (the children) may not get three balanced meals, especially if their parents work.”

The Apache Junction Unified School District is offering free lunch June 1 to July 17 at Desert Shadows Middle School. Last year, the district offered the meals at three schools, but had to cut the sites to save costs, said district spokeswoman Betty Swanson.

To qualify for the federal program, a school has to have 50 percent or greater who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Queen Creek and Higley unified school districts are not able to offer the summer programs because they don’t qualify.

“We would have do it at no cost and lose money, or charge for it,” said Carol Weekly, Queen Creek’s director of food services.

However, Queen Creek does offer a free summer meal program for migrant students at Desert Mountain Elementary School, which is also through a federal program, Weekly said.

San Marcos Elementary School

451 W. Frye Road, Chandler

June 8 to July 17

Monday to Friday

Breakfast: 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

ICAN

201 S. Washington St., Chandler

June 8 to July 17

Monday to Friday

Lunch: 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Snack: 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

My Stuff

Free lunches in east valley government schools