Will serve more summer meals to children from low-income families

On an overcast day at Mountain View Lions Park, Nancy Arnold has two options for the children who arrive at her outdoor station: a ham sandwich or tacos. For the children, either meal is free. 
Across Ancorage, 800 to 900 children, on average, will have eaten breakfast, lunch or a snack at a School District site, with the tab paid by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alaska Dispatch News reports.

The School District has participated in the federal Summer Food Service Program since 2003. This year, it has two new sites, bringing the total to nine, said Tanya Krause, School District student nutrition coordinator.

Krause said she is hopeful the School District will serve “many more” meals to low-income schoolchildren this summer. Last year, employees dished out 16,000 lunches. “We’re just trying to be where the kids are,” said Alden Thern, the School District’s head of Student Nutrition. “Just because you’re out of school doesn’t mean your needs change.”