Free healthy meals for kids available beginning May 22 in Bloomington

Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times
·3 min read

Beginning Wednesday, youth ages 18 and younger will be able to get a free, healthy meal at locations across Bloomington. Community Kitchen of Monroe County and Monroe County Community School Corp. will serve the meals, as they have in past summers, while school is out.

The meals will be offered May 22 through Aug. 6 at the Community Kitchen locations (free lunch) and June 3-July 18 at Templeton Elementary and June 3-27 at Fairview Elementary (free breakfast and lunch).

Kids and their families share a meal in the shade as part of the summer food service program a couple years ago in Bloomington. The program will be offered again this summer and begins May 22.
Kids and their families share a meal in the shade as part of the summer food service program a couple years ago in Bloomington. The program will be offered again this summer and begins May 22.

Places and times for Community Kitchen lunches

Community Kitchen lunches will be served at the following locations and times:

Route 1 (Monday-Friday)

  • 10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Dorothy Apartments (near office)

  • 10:55-11:10 a.m. Southcrest Estates (near mailboxes)

  • 11:20-11:35 a.m. Henderson Court Apartments (at playground)

  • 11:40-11:55 a.m. Walnut Woods (across from playground)

  • 12:10-12:25 p.m. Trailview (near circle)

  • 12:35-12:50 p.m. The Reserve at Chandler's Glen (picnic shelter)

  • 12:55-1:10 p.m. Arlington Valley Mobile Home Park (behind office)

Route 2 (Monday-Friday)

  • 10:30-11 a.m. Crestmont Community (Illinois Court at playground)

  • 11:15-11:45 a.m. Highland Park Elementary (playground)

  • Noon to 12:30 p.m. Limestone Crossing (playground)

  • 12:45-1:15 p.m. Country View Apartments (playground)

Places and times for MCCSC breakfast and lunches

Templeton Elementary School on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023.
Templeton Elementary School on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023.

MCCSC will serve breakfast and lunches at two locations:

Templeton Elementary Cafeteria, Monday-Thursday from June 3-July 18 (closed June 19 and July 4)

  • 9:15-9:45 a.m. breakfast

  • Noon to 12:30 p.m. lunch

Fairview Elementary Cafeteria, Monday-Thursday from June 3-27 (closed June 19)

  • 9:15-9:45 a.m. breakfast

  • 12:45-1:15 p.m. lunch

Note: State regulations require meals to be consumed on site.

What's included in the free meals?

The Community Kitchen meals are all lunches and will have a fresh fruit, vegetable, sandwich or wrap, milk or juice and a snack. The USDA requires youth receive the same five components every day: protein, whole grain, two fruits and/or vegetables and milk, according to Tim Clougher, assistant director at the food kitchen.

Clougher said Community Kitchen has been offering youth summer meals for at least the past 20 years in some form. Community Kitchen has served breakfasts, which must provide three food components, and it determined that more kids were awake and able to get a free meal later in the day, which is why it's now lunch that's offered. The meals are on a two-week cycle through the summer to add a little variety to what's served.

Last year the summer program recorded serving 5,328 lunches, 758 breakfasts and more than 3,000 snacks. That total doesn't include the number of youth who showed up to get a free meal but didn't eat it at the site, Clougher said. In order to be recorded and for the USDA reimburse the cost of the meal, it must be eaten where its served.

"We still serve even if youth don't stay at the site," Clougher said. "We can't claim meals for those. At some sites it's less than half that are counted.

"The biggest challenge for many of these families is getting to where the food is," he said, adding families often struggle to use public transportation to get to some service locations. "It's a challenge so we try to go right to where the kids are."

Reach Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington summer free meal program begins May 22