Kids line up along the island inside the kitchen of the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, ready to be served the day’s meal. On Monday, they ate fowl tacos with an orange and milk. Some days, it’s warm dogs or hamburgers.
The loose meals served to the children are part of the countrywide Summer Food Service Program, and the MLK center is just one of the diverse Denton places that offer free food to children and teens 18 and younger.
“I’ve tasted everything they’ve got, and it’s at the top of reality,” Debbie Smallwood stated.
Smallwood, who used to work at Denton ISD but is now retired, facilitates serving food to kids. This is the second summer she has helped out with the program. The weekday breakfast and lunch meals at the King Center are subsidized with the aid of the nonprofit S. Tracy Howard Project.
“It is lots extra worthwhile than I idea it might be,” Smallwood said.
Nationally, 17. Nine youngsters 18 and under enjoy meal insecurity, keeping with the No Kid Hungry marketing campaign run through Share Our Strength. The No Kid Hungry campaign defines it as “limited or unsure availability of safe, nutritious meals at some point throughout the 12 months.”
In Texas, 23. Eight the youngsters revel in food lack of confidence, in line with No Kid Hungry.
Smallwood stated she serves about 90 meals a week. Some kids who receive food are part of summer camps, while others are individuals in the network who drop by with meals. No toddler is refused a meal.
“I suppose it has [grown],” Smallwood said. “I suppose, from last year, we’ve had a touch more — maybe with the aid of 20 youngsters. That doesn’t appear to be loads. However, if you have children who don’t have food, that’s lots.”
Just under sixteen% of youngsters in all states participated in the summer season food application in 5, “based on the number of low-earnings students who qualified free of charge or decreased-price lunch all through the faculty year,” in line with No Kid Hungry.
“It’s tough to recognize that there are hungry children,” Smallwood said.
