OCSD Partners with United Way for Summer Lunch Program
Oskaloosa Community School Board
By Hailey Brown
(Oskaloosa, Iowa) – School will soon be out for the summer, but the kitchen won’t be closing. That’s because the United Way Summer Lunch Program will return throughout June and July and the Oskaloosa Community School District recently approved for the program to use the cafeteria to prepare lunches.
“We met with elementary school staff and Mr. [Russ] Reiter, and they were very gracious in letting us use the elementary school kitchen for this summer,” said United Way of Mahaska County Executive Director Amy Meyer during the April 11 OCSD board meeting.
In the past, the Oskaloosa Summer Lunch Program has provided local kids with free meals and engaging, educational activities, such as reading or playing outside. According to the United Way website, the Summer Lunch Program serves a healthy meal to children ages one through 18 years old at several sites in the community. United Way sponsors the program, but Meyer said it takes more than that sponsorship to make the program work.
“It takes a huge amount of community support and volunteers and collaborations,” she said to the board.
This will be the fourth summer that lunches will be available in the community and last summer the program served over 7,400 meals. This number covers many children within the Oskaloosa Community School District and especially children at the summer school site.
“We were able to serve them breakfast and lunch, which is great, so that way they can start off on the right foot and then be able to have that meal on their way out the door so we were really happy with that partnership as well,” explained Meyer.
Last summer, the program had a dozen different sites and hopes to have just as many this summer, although particular site locations have not yet been announced. The program continues to look for instances where the meal program could fit with different camps and programs already going on in the community, and has also looked past Oskaloosa to places like Beacon and University Park.
“Wherever there is need, we want to be there,” she said.
While feeding hungry kids is an obvious goal, that isn’t the only reason for the program. There are also many activities that go along with the meal, such as reading programs, science experiments, crafts, and outdoor activities when the weather is nice.
“It’s not directed just as a ‘hunger program’… We want it to be a community program where everyone is welcome and people bring their summer camps and people bring their daycares and families come out,” she said.
Blaine Vos of Oskaloosa also spoke in support of the program to the board at the beginning of the meeting, expressing gratefulness at the district’s willingness to let the program utilize the kitchen from June to July of this summer. Vos said the role the Farmer’s Market serves in collaboration with the summer lunch program makes Oskaloosa one of two school districts in state of Iowa that follows IDALS promotion of a tie in between summer lunch programs and a farmers market program. According to Vos, they will use local produce to help feed kids.
“The program is in itself a cut above,” he said.
The school board did not have any questions for Meyer upon the conclusion of her presentation during the elementary school report. The site locations are still being worked on but will be posted upon finalization through various media outlets and on the United Way of Mahaska County website.
Volunteers help keep the program going full steam, so anyone ages 13 and up is encouraged to volunteer. For more information on the program or to find out about volunteer opportunities, contact Program Director Shayna Bruce at 641.673.6043 or by emailing oskaloosasummerlunch@gmail.com, or contact Volunteer Coordinator Emily Brown at 641.673.6043 or by emailing uwmc.coordinator@gmail.com. For more information on the program itself, visit: http://www.unitedwaymahaska.org/OSL
Additional editing by Ginger Allsup
