Penny Kirchhoff and Betty Koch welcome a family offer a menu of upcoming lunches and scheduled events. (Volunteers record the number of lunches and beverages served.)

A new summer meals program has taken off in Crystal Lake.

The program is  sponsored by Summer Lunch Volunteers and Northern Illinois Food Bank with the support of the Crystal Lake Park District.

From June 6 to Aug. 25, any child under the age of 18 can get a free boxed lunch and milk at Ladd Park on Devonshire Lane in Crystal Lake.

According to Betty Koch, one of the trained volunteers, 11 children were served on the first day, 13 on the second, and 44 on the fourth day. They expect the numbers to continue to grow.

No food may be taken from the site, so a “share box” distributes food from the individual boxes to those who want more.

Lunch is served on-site from 11:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

A typical lunch includes turkey and cheese sandwich, peach, grape tomatoes, and milk. Children who attend Tuesday and Thursday receive chocolate milk.

The rain location is at Vineyard Christian Church, 7105 Virginia Road, Unit 18. Children and parents can also enjoy a little light entertainment like “Beach Ball Boogie” and “Song Fest in the Shade” with guitarist John Labaj.

Parents may take from the “share box” once the children are fed. The Rev. Tim Mengler filled the food gap created by the unanticipated number of children who showed up on the fourth day. He plans to procure a refrigerator so leftover food can be stored until the next day. It takes three days to respond to a shift in the number of children who attend.

“My friend Mary Fox and I wanted to do something like this for three years,” said Koch.

The two women worked independently toward the same goal, without knowing.

“Now we’re working on it together,” she said.

July 25 to Aug. 12, Coventry Elementary, located at 820 Darlington Lane in Crystal Lake, will also serve free breakfast and lunch to children during its summer school program. Children do not need to be part of the summer school program to participate. Breakfast will be served Monday through Friday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria.

Although these programs are new to Crystal Lake, Zion Lutheran School in Marengo began serving breakfast and lunch during the summer four years ago. The program serves breakfast (8-9 a.m.) and lunch (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.) to any child under 18 years old. Adults can enjoy meals for just enough to cover the cost of the food, because the program does not reimburse for adult lunches.

This year, Zion’s coordinator, Sandy Dunker, hopes to expand the program by buying local and serving more fresh foods and vegetables. Last year they served over 10,000 meals. Northern Illinois Food Bank serves lunch at the Harvard Methodist Church in Harvard Monday through Thursday.

The meals are not limited to people in need. The USDA funds the program and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) monitors it. The program’s mission is to give all children access to healthy meals every day. Besides the sites in McHenry County, there are multiple sites in Rockford, Carpentersville, Elgin, Belvidiere, locations in Cook and Lake Counties, and in various communities throughout Illinois.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Services developed a Summer Meals Site Finder (www.SummerMealsIllinois.org,) to help children, parents, and others quickly and easily find summer meal sites near them. The site finder, available for use at no charge, is a web-based application that also works on tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices without the need to download. FNS does not track, collect, or retain personal information through the use of the location services.

The mapping tool allows users to enter an address, city, state or ZIP code to find up to 50 nearby locations, along with their addresses, hours of operation, and contact information, and directions.

For more information about the program, go to http://solvehungertoday.org/get-help/nutrition/child-nutrition-programs/