During the June 27 Holbrook City Council meeting, Holbrook School District Business Manager Jacob Boyle reported on the summer breakfast and lunch program being served by the district at both Holbrook High School and Hunt Park.
The effort is to not only feed those kids who may not have access to nutritious food throughout the summer, but to get them socially active. According to Boyle, “It gets kids out of the homes and away from video games, and, hopefully, interacting with other kids.”
The breakfast and lunch program is offered Monday through Friday, along with free swimming, but one day of the week provides even more fun. Free Thursdays in Holbrook is being advertised throughout the county as an opportunity for kids to come to the park for breakfast, spend a half an hour supervised at the park where they can enjoy fun activities, visit the splash pad, which is always free, have lunch, then head to the movie theater for a free matinee, followed by a free swim at the pool. Boyle also noted that kids eat free at Denny’s on Thursdays, so they can eat all three meals that day for free.
“You can spend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Holbrook for no cost for your kids and have a really great day,” explained Boyle.
The program is run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with $20,000 contributed by St. Mary’s Food Bank that was used to provide food carriers to transport the food, the sound system and the marketing. The district prepares the meals and is reimbursed by the federal government for every meal served.
“We are about halfway through the seven-week program and have served, so far, 4,500 meals,” stated Boyle, who then added that an additional 500 meals were served during the kickoff event at the start of the program. In addition to the meals, 504 passes have been given out for the swimming pool.
When seeking local sponsorship, Richard and Stacy Nowell, owners of the Roxy Theater, stepped up to offer the free matinees at 1 p.m. every Thursday. “We’ve had 420 people show up for matinees, so we really appreciate that,” he said. Boyle hopes to be able to continue the program in years to come, but noted that is dependent upon attendance.
Breakfast is served at 7 a.m. at HHS and at 9 a.m. at Hunt Park. Lunch is served at 10 a.m. at HHS and at noon at Hunt Park.
