By Aria Garrett, Copy Editor, and Jules Vanselow, Reporter
One out of every four students at the school uses a program for free or reduced meals. Programs like these help those who can’t always afford three meals a day. But although the program is highly beneficial during school hours, once students go home, many are left without meal support.
“For a long time, I have felt that food should be a basic human right, and [with] the way our economy is structured, people are always going to be left out,” Vashon Maury Community Food Bank board member and volunteer Bailey de Longh said.
That’s why the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank decided to create the Picnics in the Park program. From June 26 to September 1, every week, Monday through Friday, food bank volunteers will serve meals at Ober Park and organize fun activities for those attending. This is the fourth year of the program, and it’s still going strong, with over 2,700 lunches provided last summer.
Anyone can utilize the program, regardless of need.
“There are people who have a lot of money and people who don’t have a lot of money, and they’re eating, all on an equal basis at picnics and playing together,” de Lough said.
“People who don’t know each other end up at the picnics, so … parents and caregivers meet each other in a place where the thing that they have in common is their kids and wanting to be together in a social way.”
Not only does the program provide food and opportunities for bonding, but the activities are set up to help prevent summer learning loss and keep the brains of those utilizing the program working through the season.
Picnics in the Park is completely free, so it’s accessible to most people in the area.
This program can also serve as a safe environment for kids who need a stable space throughout the summer. Without five days a week taken up by school, it’s common for less privileged youth to get caught up in unhealthy environments.
With all the benefits that Picnics in the Park brings to the table, it’s proved itself to be a helpful way to keep youth on the island safe and fed.