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Free lunch program
hungry for sponsors
A study says the summer lunch
Where to go By Treena Shapiro
program reaches only 24 percent
of the eligible children
Star-BulletinThere is such a thing as a free lunch, you just have to know where to find it.
Students eligible for free or reduced price lunches during the school year are also eligible for two meals a day throughout the summer.
But there aren't enough sponsors.
The biggest sponsor is the city Parks and Recreation Department, which offers lunches at 27 Summer Fun sites.
But a study released last week by the Food Research and Action Center, a private advocacy group, showed that only 24 percent of students who receive U.S. Department of Agriculture subsidized lunches during the school year take advantage of the USDA's Summer Nutrition Program.
For example, Rosie Kilafwa's 5-year-old daughter Rosie eats a free breakfast and lunch at Queen Kaahumanu Elementary School nine months of the year, but this summer she's carrying a lunch box to a Summer Fun program at Makiki District Park because no lunches are available through the program, subsidized or otherwise.
"I'm a working mother. I have to get up early to fix lunch and breakfast," Kilafwa said. "It would be easier to pay for food they prepare."During the summer, Kilafwa also has to worry about the additional cost of her daughter's meals, which she estimates to be $5-$7 a day.
But the nearest Summer Fun site participating in the lunch program is a few miles away at Papakolea Playground, and Kilafwa and Rosie travel to the Makiki park on foot.
The Food Research and Action Center ranked Hawaii 15th of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of the percentage of kids eating the free lunches. "It's much better than other states, but it's still reaching only a small number of children who are eligible," said Ellen Vollinger, the group's legal director.
In addition, Hawaii had the second-biggest increase in participating sites in 1999 from 1998.
On Oahu, 27 municipal sites are open at lunch to children 18 years and younger, and similar sites exist in Maui, Kauai and Hawaii counties. The Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center is even piloting a free breakfast program at two sites on the Big Island.
On Oahu, the only open sites offering free lunches are connected to the Summer Fun program. But less than half of the sites participate, due to federal guidelines for determining a low-income neighborhood. For a Summer Fun program to be eligible for the summer lunch program, more than 50 percent of students at the schools that feed into a site must receive free or reduced price lunches. If a site fits that criteria, all participants receive a free lunch, regardless of their families' income.
The lunches are available to students who don't attend Summer Fun, too, said Arthur Wong, city recreation specialist. "We open up the site and anybody within that age bracket is allowed to go there to eat," he said.
And some children do just that. "We've seen a moderate increase in that activity," said Gene Kaneshiro, state School Services Branch director.
According to Kaneshiro, reasons for low turnout at lunch time could be that parents aren't aware of the Summer Nutrition program or think that their children need to be enrolled in Summer Fun to take advantage of the free meals.
The other problem is location. Since free lunches are only available in low-income neighborhoods, children in areas with less than 50 percent of qualifying students may have to travel too far to find a site that offers lunch.
Melinda Arima, whose 6-year-old daughter also attends the Makiki Summer Fun Program, said next year they may change to a location that has a lunch program.
Although Arima's daughter qualifies for free lunches at school, cost isn't a factor. "It would be more convenient," she said.
Summer Fun sites for free lunches: Where to go
Palolo Valley District Park
