With the end of the school year and food scarcity issues remaining, the city of Aurora together with Northern Illinois Food Bank and the Dunham Foundation are again looking to bridge the gap for youngsters in need of meals this summer.
In a press release, the city has announced that beginning this week, any child in Aurora “will have access to free, nutritious meals all summer that will be distributed each weekday at four Aurora parks.”
Clayton Muhammad, Aurora chief communications and equity officer, said the program began in 2018 and ran throughout the pandemic.
“We have been partnering all along with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. For families, there is always that concern, what do students do, particularly those who are on free or reduced lunches during the school year, and how is that handled during the summer,” Muhammad said. “The Northern Illinois Food Bank and the Dunham Fund and some others stepped up and said ‘We’ll close the gap. We know the need that’s out there.'”
The program, Muhammad said, allows all youngsters 18 years old and under “without registration or ID needed” to visit one of the selected parks and have lunch.
“There are also those who were concerned about what do you do on the weekends?” he said. “No problem. When you grab your lunch on Fridays, you take home with you lunches throughout the weekend. Throughout the last two years it has also included fresh fruits and vegetables for this special program.”
Muhammad said even though the city “may have scaled back on some of the mass food distributions this is something that we continue to do.”
The summer youth lunch program will continue to have four distribution sites throughout the city.
“We’ll have the same four, one in each section of the city, and we always try to keep it balanced,” he said. “There is no ceiling here as far as people – whatever the need is, thanks to the partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, we’ll be able to meet it thanks to the amazing work they do in our area.”
The program runs Monday through Friday until Aug. 11 from 11 a.m. to noon at Garfield Park playground, 350 N. Sheffer Road, and Phillips Park Visitors Center, 1000 Ray Moses Drive, and from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at McCarty Park, 350 E. Galena Blvd., and Plum Park, 337 Plum St.
The program also includes the Friday Fresh Market, where every Friday take-home lunches for Saturday and Sunday, along with fresh fruit and vegetables, will be provided to families, city officials said.
All meals are free. Weekday meals must be eaten on site, officials said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
