Friday, June 18, 2010
Staff report
NEW CASTLE, Pa.
Summer Food Program sites opened this week around Lawrence County in an effort to feed children in danger of going hungry once school breakfast and lunch programs are suspended for the summer.
Most sites are open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and, in many cases, activities are provided for children.
Christina Winnewicz, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s coordinator of the Regional Summer Food Service Program, said the program has grown from 10 to 19 sites since last summer.
An effort was made to increase the number of sites after an analysis revealed that fewer than 5 percent of eligible children were taking part in the program, she said.
The program is operated in cooperation with the Lawrence County Social Services and is an extension of the School Lunch and Breakfast Program, operated under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
At most sites, the program will run Monday through Friday until Aug. 20. Breakfast will be served from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Activities will be offered between meals.