The
kickoff event will feature San Diego’s own Fern Street Circus with
jugglers, acrobats, aerialists and live music. A free BBQ lunch for all
children and accompanying adults will be provided. This family-friendly
event will also feature the San Diego Padres Friar and Pad Squad, fun
games with lots of prizes, an inflatable jumper, crafts, music and prize
drawings.
Summer
is a difficult nutritional time for many children. Not only does food
insecurity increase among low-income families during the summer months,
but children are also at greater risk for obesity as they lose access to
the school meals they rely on during the school year. The summer meal
program gives children the nutritious meals they need to remain healthy
throughout the summer.
San
Diego Unified’s Summer Fun Café meals also support the community’s
other summer programs and help draw children into educational,
enrichment and recreational activities that keep them learning, engaged,
active and safe during school vacation. The EAT SMART. PLAY HARD.
theme translates to eating healthy food and being physically active
every day.
“It
is important that San Diego learns about this valuable summer lunch
program for children,” said Gary Petill, San Diego Unified¹s Food
Services Director. “It’s fun, it’s free, it’s easy and when the kids
head back to school in the fall, they will be strong and ready to
learn.”
San
Diego Unified has offered the summer lunch program since 2003, and now
serves nearly 250,000 meals and snacks each summer. The program is
funded through the United States Department of Agriculture’s “Seamless
Summer Feeding Option” and will be at 58 sites: 27 park and recreation
centers, 14 community and military sites, and 17 schools. For a
complete schedule and locations, go to www.sandi.net/food and select Summer Fun Café or go to http://www.211sandiego.org/summerlunch. Participating in the program requires no paperwork, reservations or income qualifications.
More
than 1,500 children and their parents/guardians are expected to attend
the kickoff event. The community resource fair at the event provides
participants with a wide variety of information about services from
community partners. Additionally, every family goes home with a bag of
fresh fruit and vegetables from the San Diego Food Bank or Feeding
America San Diego. The San Diego Honda Dealers are underwriting the
cost of the adult meals at the kickoff event, and General Mills is
sponsoring parent participation in other BBQ events.
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