Volunteers: Needed, especially drivers or bilingual workers. Call Kay Kriss Weinstein of the Salvation Army, 402-898-6000, or Carmen Bunde of Hunger Free Heartland, 402-578-4028
Information: www.hungerfreeheartland.org
About two dozen children, from toddlers to teens, sat under some trees at the Sunset Ridge Apartments near 132nd and C Streets on Tuesday. It looked like a picnic, but they were enjoying a free hot lunch.
The food came from the Kids Cruisin' Kitchen, a mobile canteen that is a collaborative project of the Salvation Army, Food Bank for the Heartland and Hunger Free Heartland.
More than 55,000 children in Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie Counties qualify for free or reduced-fee lunches during the school year. Those same children need good, healthy food just as much during the summer months, but don't have a place to get it or don't have transportation to places free food might be served.
The three agencies decided to address the problem with a mobile kitchen that goes to a few places where children in need live or gather during the summer.
The Salvation Army had trucks that it used in the winter as mobile canteens. The Food Bank could provide food. And Hunger Free Heartland supplied funding and organization.
The work of driving the vans, cooking the food and serving it is done by volunteers. It takes about 50 volunteers a week to run the program, said Sue Arment, director of Hunger Free Heartland.
Eugene Williams and his daughter, Sonya, were working the canteen Tuesday. Eugene Williams, 81, said he volunteered because he wants to keep active as long as possible. “I don't want to shut down.”
His daughter said she was temporarily out of work, so she also had time to volunteer, She said the two of them work on the mobile kitchen on Mondays and Tuesdays for some important reasons: “We wanted to get involved in helping the community. We don't have a lot but wanted to give something back. And it gives me and my dad time to spend together.”
Tuesday they served Salisbury steak, roasted potatoes, corn, zucchini, rolls, milk and oranges.
Cameron Keen, 16, was impressed with the menu and the idea of free food. “It's a good way to get everyone in the area together,” he said. “It helps people who don't have a lot of money right now.”
He was there with his sister, Alexandria, 12, and his brother, Marcus, 9.
“Last summer we had money issues,” Cameron said, adding that lunches then were difficult. “This is a great change.”
Michaela Blackmon brought her three kids and some neighbor children for the lunch. Because of funding from Mutual of Omaha, parents can eat the free meals, too.
“The food is nutritious, and it sure saves on groceries,” she said. “Summers are hard when the kids don't go to school.”
Children must eat the meals on site; they can't take them home. And diners are expected to behave, Arment said. James Farley, site monitor, was on hand to make sure rules were followed.
Two mobile canteens are in use Monday through Friday. One goes to the Sunset Ridge Apartments and the Mason Apartments. The other visits Gallagher Park and Memorial Park in Plattsmouth. Those sites are open to the public.
Once word gets out, Arment said, the program should serve between 250 and 350 children a day; the number is expected to climb after summer school gets out. She was thrilled with the backpacks donated by ConAgra Foods. The durable packs, filled with essential food items, are sent home with the children on Friday so they have at least one good meal over the weekend.
Kay Kriss Weinstein, metro area volunteer director of the Salvation Army, and the Food Bank's Brian Barks also wanted to make sure people also know about the fresh produce stands coming in mid-July. The fruits and vegetables, important for good health and often too costly for tight budgets, will visit several locations through September.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com
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