Boys & Girls Clubs ready to serve free lunches this summer

by Charles H. Featherstone Staff Writer
| June 7, 2017 3:00 AM

MOSES LAKE — The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin will provide free lunches this summer for children across the Moses Lake area.

This makes the 19th year the Boys & Girls Clubs will provide free lunches at area schools for kids aged 2-18.

“This is a valuable program for our community and our kids, which is why we have done it for so many years,” said to Rachelle Lange, director of resource development for the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

The clubs will be providing lunches and afternoon snacks at six locations around Moses Lake, Lange said, beginning on June 20 and lasting through Aug. 11. Moses Lake High School will also serve breakfast.

The clubs will be serving lunch and afternoon snacks at the following location from June 20 through Aug. 11:

McGraw Clubhouse, 425 N. Paxson Dr., open Monday-Friday. Lunch served from 1-1:30 p.m., snack served from 4-4:30 p.m.
North Elementary, 1200 W. Craig St., open Monday-Friday. Lunch served from 12-12:30 p.m., snack served from 2:30-3 p.m.
McCosh Park, 401 W. Fourth Ave., open Monday-Friday. Lunch served from 12-12:30 p.m.

The clubs will be serving breakfast and lunch at Moses Lake High School, 803 E. Sharon Ave., open Monday-Thursday, from June 20 through July 27. Breakfast served from 7:45-8:15 a.m., lunch served from 12-12:30 p.m.

The clubs will be serving lunch and snacks at the following locations from June 20 through July 7:

Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, 900 E. Yonezawa Ave., open Monday-Friday. Snack served from 10-10:30 a.m., lunch served from 11:30-12:30 p.m.
CB Tech Auto at Big Bend Community College, 7662 Chanute St. NE., open Monday-Friday. Lunch is served from 11:30-12:00 a.m.

All of the locations will be closed on July 3-4 for the Independence Day holiday.

Lange said the clubs served over 10,000 meals for the eight weeks of the program last year.

“It was pretty impressive,” she said.

The program is paid for by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state's education department, Lange added.

According to figures provided by the Moses Lake School District, about 57 percent of the district's 7,729 enrolled students in May — or 4,410 kids — receive free meals during the school day. Another 725, around 10 percent, pay a reduced amount for school meals.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.