Boise
Just like last year, Picnic in the Park will offer a variety of
enrichment activities as part of this very attractive noontime
package.
There are no income or attendance requirements. It is open to
all young people ages 1 to 18. All they have to do is show up,
have lunch and enjoy the activities.
In 2006, Picnic in the Park served 50,930 lunches between June
12 and August 18, with an additional 500 lunches served at the
Meridian Boys and Girls Club through August 25. In 2007, the
program served 71,448 lunches, and we expect that growth to
continue in 2008.
Those numbers point out how important this program is for
thousands of children in the Treasure Valley area. For example,
some 36% or about 8,000 of the children in Boise schools depend
on free or reduced-price lunches during the school year. Those
children are at risk of going hungry during the summer when
school breakfasts and lunches are not available. At Taft
Elementary, for instance, 76% of the kids are on the free or
reduced-price lunch program. At nearby Whittier, 91% qualify.
Those are the types of kids we need to reach this summer.
The Picnic in the Park program is the result of collaboration
between The Idaho Foodbank and a number of partners, including
Centennial Job Corps, Boise Parks & Recreation, Idaho Boys &
Girls Clubs, Ada County Library, Humphreys Diabetes Center and
Food Service of America.
Lewiston
Children’s programs have exploded in North Central Idaho this
past year, Chuck says. With Scott Friend now on board full time
at the Lewiston facility, Chuck is already planning to expand
children’s programs to more outlying areas next school year,
which means summer feeding in more outlying areas next summer.
“The Backpack Program was a huge
success this school year. We ended up providing 150 backpacks of
food per week to 14 schools,” says Chuck. “The community has
really taken notice with the Backpack Program, and we anticipate
filling up to 250 backpacks per week next school year.”
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