Clover Park Schools Keep Kids From Going Hungry Over the Summer

On this overcast Thursday, chef’s salad is the entrée of the day in the cafeteria at Lakeview Hope Academy.

And even though the 2010-11 school year formally ended on June 27 in the Clover Park School District, more than 110 students are at school for lunch. They are participants in the district’s summer lunch program, which provides free meals to children under age 18 five days a week.

For some of the children, that salad may have to tide them over until tomorrow.

“That is the major thing – for the kids to get food,” said Doris Carden, who is in charge of Lakeview Hope’s food service for the summer. She normally works at Clover Park High School. “There are a lot of kids here that this is the only meal they get today.”

Eleven CPSD schools are serving lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday until July 29. They are: , , , and  Schools, and , , , , and Schools.

CPSD Superintendent Debbie LeBeau said that the lunch program is a good fit since many of the schools are already running summer-school programs.

“It’s a good community project to have,” she said. “We’re very happy to make sure that lunch continues for kids in the summertime.”

Most of the children are bused in – they are picked up as close to their regular bus stop as possible – and then taken home after lunch. The group at Lakeview Hope is half students from there and half from neighboring Tyee Park Elementary. With the exception of Tillicum Elementary, all of the schools have a partner for the lunch program.

However, the program is not restricted to those who attend the school – or are enrolled in CPSD, said Lakeview Hope principal Michael Auton.

“Any kids in the community can come in,” he said, noting that they had six walk-ins on Wednesday.

About 140 students are expected at Lakeview Hope over the course of the month – Carden said it always starts off slow after the July 4 holiday.  

Auton said that he was hoping “for a few more than I have” in the first few days, but that the numbers are stabilizing and they are able to feed a good number of children. Last year, Lakeview Hope averaged 135-140 children a week.

Each child receives a nutritional sack lunch including milk, an entrée and accompaniments. The food comes from the district’s food services commissary.  

Lunches are available on a first come, first serve basis, and per state regulations, all food must be consumed on-site. That means that a student cannot take their apple or crackers home to eat later.

“It’s hard,” Carden said. “You have to make sure that they eat it between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., and they can’t take it with them. For some of the younger ones, that isn’t much time to eat.”

Sometimes, she said, the children ask for more food. And sometimes, they ask for food to take to their mom or a sibling.

“It’s sad when I have to take (leftover food) away,” she said. “But there’s nothing I can do. If it was up to me, I’d let them take the orange.”

While they are required to strictly enforce one meal per child, Carden said that participants are allowed to place something from their lunch that they don’t want in a “Goodie Box” in the center of the room, and another child is welcome to eat it.

And they do, she said, pointing out a young boy who was inhaling his second salad of the day.

Auton said that they do not stop trying to help once the lunch period is over, though.

Last year, he said, a new family stopped by the lunch program and indicated that they did not know of any local food banks. He made a few calls and found three nearby options.

“That’s the great thing about Lakewood and the Clover Park School District,” he said. “We try to reach out – we will go the extra mile.”