Valley sites offer free meals for children

School, YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs take part in program

jenna dosch/viewMason Sumpter, left, and Alex Marquez, right, both wanted chocolate milk with their lunch at Trinity United Methodist School, 6151 W. Charleston Blvd. The church is one of the locations in the valley that serves free lunch to children under 18 years old. Advertisement

During the summer months, local organizations offer free food for children around the Las Vegas Valley.

Trinity United Methodist School and YMCA of Southern Nevada are offering free meals for children through the Summer Food Service Program.

Open to any child under the age of 18, youngsters can receive full, well-balanced meals free of charge by visiting Trinity, 6151 W. Charleston Blvd., or the Bill and Lillie Heinrich YMCA, 4141 Meadows Lane. Breakfast is served from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., and lunch is distributed from noon to 1 p.m until Aug. 29 at Trinity. At the Heinrich YMCA, lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"It's open to any child " Leslie Chaney, director of Trinity United Methodist School, said.

Chaney used the program at a YMCA in California when she directed a program there and thought it was a good idea to use it again in her position at the school.

"I would like to have more people know about it," Chaney said. "I don't want it to be the best kept secret in Las Vegas."

Breakfast provided by the program includes juice, milk, cereal and fruit. Eventually, Trinity United will offer hot meals for lunch, but as of now, the lunches consist of a vegetable, fruit, milk, a sandwich and salad.

The Heinrich YMCA offers a variety of hot and cold lunches throughout the week, and all meet USDA regulations for a well-balanced meal.

Trinity United Methodist has a cafe where children from the community can enjoy their food, and those enrolled in the preschool program eat their lunches in the classroom. At the YMCA, all children eat together in the lunch room, regardless of enrollment in the organization's programs, Maureen Sisto, youth and family director, said.

"I think the kids are really happy," Chaney said. "They know they're going to get a well-balanced meal. They don't have to fight over doughnuts anymore."

United Methodist Social Ministries also offers free meals for families and single people throughout the entire year from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Documentation is required for this service and includes a valid state- or government-issued form of identification, Social Security cards for all family members, proof of residency and income verification.

With documentation, families can receive three meals for three days for each person.

"We offer food on weekends when most other agencies are closed," Loyce Smith, executive director of the organization, said. "We prepare food boxes in anticipation of our clients."

United Methodist offers two locations for food pickup, 4412 S. Maryland Parkway and 2727 Civic Center Drive in North Las Vegas.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada also offer free breakfast and lunch for children during the summer months. "It's open to everyone, but the kids who are members are the ones who come," Starr Bailey, program director, said.

Locations offering free meals include the Al Snyder Clubhouse, 1011 Dumont Blvd.; John D. "Jackie" Gaughan Clubhouse, 920 Cottage Grove Ave.; Lied Memorial Boys & Girls Clubhouse, 2850 S. Lindell Road; Andre Agassi Clubhouse, 800 N. Martin Luther King Blvd.; and the B.C. McCabe Clubhouse, 2801 E. Stewart Ave.

Meal times differ for all the clubs, and children need to have a Boys & Girls Club membership to get in the door.