A taste of help for families
Barbecue kicks off city’s summer lunch program
WOONSOCKET – The aroma of grilled meats wafted through the air at World War II Veterans Park as scores of families queued up for plates crowded with hot dogs, watermelon and coleslaw, but it wasn’t a typical pre-Independence Day barbecue.
It was the opening salvo in the summer war on hunger – 2017 edition.
In conjunction with its food service partner, Sodexo, Inc., the Woonsocket Education Department kicked off the Summer Food Service Program in the parks. Supported entirely by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program aims to provide a healthy meal to the same kids who are eligible for free and fee-subsidized lunches in the school district – when classes are not in session.
“It’s supposed to be a fun time of year,” says Ellen Shalvey, the general manager of Sodexo. “But for a lot of families it’s a time of stress and struggle for childhood hunger.”
She’s right, says Schools Supt. Patrick McGee.
There are about 5,800 students
enrolled in the school district, he said, and 77 percent of them qualify for free and subsidized lunches based on low family income. When the school year ends, it’s very likely that many of those children would not get a decent lunch – or any lunch at all – without the summer lunch program.
“Some don’t always have access to lunch, sad as that may sound,” said McGee. “This is an opportunity for them to get some healthy, nutritious food, Monday through Friday. And it’s good food. It’s not junk food.”
McGee, School Committeeman Donald Burke, City Councilwoman Melissa Murray, Sodexo District Manager Mark Tucker, Jessica Patrolia, nutrition coordinator at the state Department of Education and Shalvey took turns at the microphone during a brief speaking platform about the program before inviting guests to eat. A long line formed quickly – including adults, admitted for one day only – in front of the World War II Park splash pad, while some of the speakers, including McGee, donned bright red aprons to work as servers.
“We know there are millions of children in the United States who get half their calories every day from their school meal,” said Murray. “This is an extension of that meal program for children who might not get any food when school is out.”
Alicia Taylor, who was standing in line with three small children waiting to get a meal, said there’s no doubt in her mind that the program is vital to city residents.
“I think it’s important to our community,” she said. “It’s desperately needed, that’s for sure.”
World War II Veterans Park is one of six sites where Sodexo will be serving lunches weekdays beginning at 11:30 for anyone 18 and under through Aug. 18 – no questions asked. Start times vary at other sites, including Harris Elementary School, 11:15 a.m.; Cass Park Playground, 11:30 a.m.; Morin Heights Community Room, 11:45 a.m.; Boys & Girls Club on Kendrick Avenue; 11:45 a.m.; and Dunn Park Playground, noon.
While yesterday’s event was billed as the kickoff, designed to draw attention the program, it was actually the fourth full day of the seasonal lunch program, according to Shalvey.
Based on need, she said, Sodexo is contemplating adding a seventh meal site – where, however, hasn’t been decided yet.
During the first three days, she said, Sodexo served 1,300 meals at the existing locations, and it is projecting serving 20,000 before the program ends in about six weeks.
Shalvey says one of the most common refrains among those who send their kids to the summer lunch program is that it’s an indispensable lifeline for families who live on food stamps, welfare or other fixedincome benefits. Typically, at the end of the month, when they’ve exhausted their stipends and they have no more money left for the grocery store, they tell her, “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” said Shalvey.
Committeeman Burke said Sodexo, a food service contractor with the education department for more than two decades, deserves credit for running the program along with school and parks officials.
“The children wouldn’t be fed if it weren’t for our great workers from Sodexo,” Burke said. “They need our help and it’s great there are people here to answer that call.”