This summer, children ages 18 and younger will be able to eat a free lunch on weekdays in Lawrence, and families can pick up weekly meal kits to prepare and plan ahead.
The lunch programs are funded by the federal Summer Nutrition program.
Daily lunch sites
Lunches will begin on Monday, June 3 and last throughout the summer, according to a flyer on the Lawrence school district’s website.
Lunch will be offered Mondays through Fridays from Monday, June 3 through Friday, July 26:
• 11 a.m. to noon at Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.; and
• noon to 1 p.m. at Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.
Kids eat free, and adults can purchase meals for $5 each. Lunches must be eaten onsite.
Sites will be closed on June 19 and July 4 and 5 for holidays. The arts center site will also be closed June 14 and July 19.
Meal kits
In addition to on-site lunch, families can pick up five days of breakfast and lunch kits to prepare meals at home.
Kits include five breakfasts, five lunches, five cartons of 1% plain milk and five cartons of 1% chocolate milk, according to a registration form for families. Meal preparation instructions will be attached.
Kits will be available for pickup on Tuesdays — June 4, 11, 18 and 25; July 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; and Aug. 6 — at Youth Sports Complex, 4911 W. 27th St. in Lawrence.
Meal kits for adults will not be offered.
Registration is required by noon on the Friday before the intended meal kit pickup so that organizers can prepare. One form can be filled out per family.
Sign up via this Google form. The registration form is in both English and Spanish.
Summer EBT
In addition, on Thursday, the governor’s office announced Summer EBT available to help keep kids fed over summer.
Families with a household income meeting the requirement for federal free or reduced-price school meals at Kansas schools can receive $120 per eligible child for grocery costs through Summer EBT, Kansas Reflector reported.
The Kansas State Department of Education reported 49% of Kansas public school students, or 235,096 public school students, were approved for free and reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year.
Read more about the program at this link. Learn more from the flyer at this link or on the program’s website at fns.usda.gov/summer.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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