Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 10, 1993 TAG: 9307100092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Without the lunches, an estimated 1,675 children would go hungry daily during the summer.
Using $150,000 in federal funds, the city and several other community agencies provide free meals for children at 13 sites, mainly in public housing complexes and other inner-city neighborhoods.
Nearly 60 children had lunch Thursday in the community room at the Lansdowne Park housing development, one of the meal sites.
They ranged in age from 1 to 18.
Up to 85 children in Lansdowne Park come for lunch during some summer weeks, said Adams, a supervisor for the lunch program.
Some children are attending summer camp, so there are fewer to feed, she said.
Jason Bond, 14, and his sister, Karen, 15, were among the children who came to Lansdowne's air-conditioned community room Thursday.
They come almost every weekday.
"The meals are good most of the time," said Jason, who moved to Roanoke two years ago. "They are OK."
Thursday's bag lunch included a ham sandwich, potato salad, an orange, cookies and a carton of milk.
Adams said the meals are nutritionally balanced and include a fruit and vegetable every day.
Karen Bond brought 1-year-old Eddie Lewis and helped him unwrap his sandwich and open his milk. She cares for Eddie during the lunch hour.
Many of the children who come for lunch at Lansdowne are young - 2 or 3 years old.
The older children help the younger ones with their meals. Most of the children from Lansdowne Park know each other and look out for each other, Jason Bond said.
Adams tries to learn all their names, especially the younger children's.
"I give them a little love now and then, too," she said.
The children's names are logged in each day, so there is a record of who received the meals. This record also helps the site supervisors determine how many meals to order for the next day, Adams said.
The summer food program is similar in concept and eligibility requirements to the national school lunch program.
Surveys have shown that the program is needed, city officials said. Some children don't have enough to eat, and others don't get balanced meals.
The city received a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help pay for the program. City Council also appropriated $12,300 to cover administration and staffing for the program.
Program coordinator Dawn Carpenter said the Agriculture Department reimburses the city $2.17 for each meal served. The Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium helps administer meal distribution.
The city Redevelopment and Housing Authority also provides space in several public housing developments where the meals are served.
The lunches are provided from the middle of June until early September while schools are closed.
An estimated 79,000 meals will be served this summer.
The meals are prepared by Total Action Against Poverty, which operates a kitchen for its Head Start program. They are delivered by vans owned by the Roanoke Area Dial-A-Ride agency.
The need for the program has increased in recent years, city officials said. Last summer, 1,200 children were served.
The meals are served between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekdays.
Among the public housing communities served by the program are Jamestown Place, Indian Rock Village, Hurt Park, Lincoln Terrace, Bluestone, Hunt Manor and Lansdowne.
by CNB