Three guys having fun!
Nan Nasser
It is warming up and you are probably enjoying barbecues, happy hour on a patio or an outdoor lunch cooled with misters. However for hundreds of children north of us there are no wonderful meals in the summer.
When school closes for the academic year youngsters in Mammoth, San Manuel and towns north of us can no longer receive the federal free/reduced lunches or breakfasts. These kids must now rely on the Tri Community Food Bank for meals. Federal law permits one food basket per month per family, with enough food in it to feed that family for three days. The food bank can add items when available. If you own your own property you are not always eligible for food stamps regardless of the condition of the domicile. Many groups that help this food bank during the year do not always meet after the snowbirds leave and contributions drop.
You can help! SaddleBrooke Community Outreach is inviting you to bring nonperishable food items to Suite L which we will get to TCFB. Those foods should be high in protein and kid friendly. That includes peanut butter, tuna, canned pasta meals and mac and cheese. Yes, the community food drive was very successful but TCFB feeds over 900 people every month including 521 children and the food drive provided between six and eight weeks of food. Almost every child in the Mammoth School is eligible for the federal lunch program as well as 65% of San Manuel kids. The numbers listed by Arizona Education website total 942 kids who can receive the free/reduced meals in schools in Oracle, San Manuel and Mammoth. The number of youngsters who receive free/reduced lunch meals is not reflected in the family food boxes. Without the daily school meals these children and their families do suffer.
Suite L in the Minit Mart shopping center is open Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The phone number is 825-3302. Help us help our kids; they are our future. Let’s make sure that no child goes to bed hungry this summer.