Charlottesville Parks and Recreation is offering free dinners to any children who need them this summer

Charlottesville Parks and Recreation will host free dinners for children at some of the city’s public and low income housing communities for about a month this summer.

The dinners will be served on a first come, first serve basis  — and anyone can attend. 

The meals are a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded program focused on feeding children in the summertime, while the free school lunch program is not operating.  

The dinners will run from June 28-July 23. The schedule is as follows:

• Greenstone on 5th Community Center: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Friendship Court Community Center: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• South 1st Street Community Center: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Westhaven Community Center: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

The kids who attend will eat foods like yogurt and granola, to turkey sandwiches, hummus and more.

Each dinner will also include games, arts and crafts and possibly some field trips, said Karin Gainniny, meals coordinator for the parks department. 

Anyone 18 or younger is invited to join the dinners.

For more information, contact Riaan Anthony, deputy director of Parks and Recreation, at anthonyr [AT] charlottesville [DOT] gov.

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