Nina Le and her two daughters arrived at Yori Park at 12:30 p.m. on June 16. They made it just in time to get lunch for the two young girls.
“This is great. They love face painting. They love to go and play with the new games, and it’s really cool to meet new people,” Le said.
Le said she read about the free lunch program on the Moms of Northern Nevada Facebook post.
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada runs the Kids Cafe Summer Meals program in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The lunches are the same as the ones provided by the Washoe County School District, said Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing for the food bank.
“So it’s a cold lunch, especially at sites like this one. It’s a sack lunch. It could sometimes be a sandwich or a salad,” Lantrip said.
Children between 2 and 18 can show up to any of the 20 locations for a free meal.
The only rule is meals must be eaten on site. There is no paperwork or sign up needed, she said.
The Food Bank has been giving out free meals for over 20 years.
The program’s kickoff event on June 16 had activities like face painting, and games like cornhole, axe throwing, dodgeball and Tetris, provided by City of Reno’s Rolling Recreation program.
Spread the Word Nevada gave out free books in English and Spanish to children.
The Food Bank will be handing out meals to children now until August 2. There are sites in the North Valleys, Sun Valley, Reno and Sparks areas.
At O’Brien Middle School, Lemelson Elementary School and Jessie Beck Elementary School, breakfast will be given out from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. And, lunch will be available from 12:00-12:30 p.m.
Lunch is typically available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. But it varies by location.
For times and locations visit the Food Bank website, fbnn.org.
