ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Children's Lunchbox, a group that partners with Bean's Cafe, kicked off its summer meal program on Monday, delivering and serving up free lunches and dinner for kids at a couple of sites in Anchorage.
Fifty-six lunches were served at the Muldoon Boys and Girls Club, a number which drew praise from program director Lynnette Ortolano.
"On average, the Boys and Girls Club serves about 90 to 100 a day. On the first day of summer, this is a really good turnout," Ortolano said.
During the school year, thousands of Anchorage School District students rely on the district's free and reduced-price lunch program -- but when school is out for the summer, many of those children do not eat three meals a day.
The goal of the program is to make sure children do not go hungry during their summer break. According to the Food Bank of Alaska, 53,000 children statewide rely on ASD's free or reduced-price school lunches, but only about 10 percent of children have access to summer meals.
