Suzan DelBene Visits Snohomish Summer Meal Sites!

On Monday July 21^st several Snohomish Summer Meals sites had a very special visitor. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene joined the lunch line to hand out meals to kiddos visiting the Snohomish Aquatic Center and Snohomish High School. With a smile she handed out sandwiches, salads and slices of pizza. Kristin Foley, the Communications Director at Snohomish School District, was our guide for the afternoon. There was excitement in the air as kids got to choose their main meal and sides. At Snohomish High School they even got to design their very own salad from the many options at the salad bar!

Kristin supplemented our experience of the program with stories and facts about the summer meals offered in Snohomish. The Aquatic Center is a relatively new site that is a mobile site - meaning the food is brought there after being prepared. These mobile sites expand the reach of the program to new demographics and make the program more accessible. This is important considering most kids travel to get their meal by foot or bike. Their partnership with the Snohomish Aquatic Center has provided a special incentive for the Summer Meal Programs here. After visiting any one of the five sites a total of ten times a child (defined as 18 years of age or younger) gets a free pass to the Aquatic Center! Kristin shared a heartfelt story about a family strapped for resources who saved these passes in order to plan a summer family vacation at the Aquatic Center. Another special incentive is the mobile library which follows the summer meals sites on Tuesdays offering as many free books as a child desires. The meals site at the Aquatic Center is intimate and serves about 20 kids a day. The next site, Snohomish High School, provided a very different and equally important view of summer meals as 292 kids were fed. With only several paid staff members hired by Sodexo, Congresswoman DelBene joined the ranks with six dedicated volunteer servers at Snohomish High School. Volunteer help is integral to the functioning of this important program. 

All of this effort has paid off. Four years ago there were 5,000 kids getting free summer meals in Snohomish. Last year they served 20,000. This year Kristin is certain they will surpass 25,000. Congresswoman DelBene listened intently and with compassion as Kristin shared her dreams for the program. Her next steps are to make the breakfast sites mobile. At the moment no breakfast sites are mobile, which she believes greatly contributes to the under-participation in the breakfast program. She has also raised close to $20,000 towards renovating an old school bus into a mobile meal truck. She still needs about $20,000 to fund this project. To raise the bar a step higher, she dreams to also serve dinner from this bus. When Congresswoman DelBene asked Kristin if she thinks the kids participating in the Snohomish Summer Meals Programs currently get dinner at home she replied- they don’t. Current federal funding for the Summer Nutrition Programs does not reimburse sites to feed kids dinner, but the Summer Meals Act of 2014 outlines a solution to that problem. The lovely summer afternoon wrapped up with Kristin’s inspiring ideas for eliminating childhood hunger in Snohomish and the Congresswoman’s caring remarks and support.

To provide support for these Summer Meal Programs in Snohomish please contact Kristin Foley  at communications@sno.wednet.edu or 360.563.7263

-Danielle Gilmour, WFC Communications and Advocacy Assistant