The Eat United Summer Food Service Program is a nationally funded program as part of the National School Lunch Program that was designed to fill the gap and provide healthy, nutritious meals to all children in the community when school is out. This program encourages non-profit organizations in underserved areas to provide free meals to all children age 0-18 on a first come, first serve basis. “While this program has been available for some communities for a number of the years, changes to the Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act helped make summer feed a priority,” says Lori Wagner, executive director for the United Way of Crookston. “The Crookston School District instated this Eat United Summer Food Service Program in June of 2015 with the financial aid of USDA and Crookston United Way.”
Eat United has continued to expand within the last four summers to provide tasteful, nutrient-dense food to an increasing number of children at two separate open locations in Crookston. The program typically runs for eight weeks, following the park board schedule. Meals are served from 11:30 am to 12:30 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis at Highland Park Complex under the Lion’s shelter and at Wildwood Park. The Eat United Program also provides meals to the summer care program located at Washington School. This site is intended for the children directly involved in the summer care program and is not open to the public.
Over the past four summers, the Eat United Summer Food Service Program has served 16,623 free meals to children in the Crookston community as well as 462 meals to paying adults. Summer of 2018 was the programs best summer to date, serving on average over 140 free meals to children each day. The success of this program is due to several organizations working together for the betterment of the community. Crookston Public Schools runs and oversees the program. The USDA reimburses Crookston Schools for each meal served and the United Way of Crookston provides additional funding to cover extra costs, such as labor to make and transport the meals to each site. The Tri-Valley Opportunity Council provides free bus services throughout town, so students can access the meal sites. The City of Crookston’s Parks and Recreation Department has allowed Eat United to use their parks each summer, keeping them clean and maintained each day.
Also, there have been several volunteers serving the students over the summers from different organizations including the United Way of Crookston, Cathedral School, Trinity Lutheran Church, Tri-Valley Foster Grandparent Program, Polk County Public Health, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, American Crystal Sugar, University of Minnesota Extension, RiverView Health, New Flyer, Crookston Chamber of Commerce, Altru Clinic, and the Lion’s Club. Eat United would not be available to our community without the collaborative efforts of all these organizations.
“Donations provided to United Way of Crookston go to a number of different community-focused projects, programs and organizations including the Eat United Summer Food Service Program,” said Wagner. “Crookston Public Schools and United Way of Crookston look forward to the summer of 2019, where the Eat United program can serve a number of familiar faces as well as children coming out for a meal for the first time.”
Questions or comments regarding the Eat United Summer Food Service Program can be directed to Anna Ogaard-Brekken at 218-281-5313 x 7 or annaogaard@isd593.org.
