Fox River Valley Public Library District serves free summer lunches to children

The Fox River Valley Public Library District has partnered with local, state and national organizations, as well as residents and businesses, to provide free, healthy, boxed lunches for children over the summer. The lunches will be served from noon until 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, June 5 to Aug. 14 (except July 4), in the meeting room of the Dundee Library, 555 Barrington Ave. in East Dundee. It for children 18 and under. No registration is required.

"During the school year, many children in our service area receive free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program, but when school is out for the summer nearly one in six go hungry," said library director Roxane Bennett. "This free summer lunch program directly addresses a strong need in the community."

Bennett continued, "We're also hoping that the children who may not have otherwise come to the library will join our Summer Reading Challenge and nourish their minds, along with their bodies."

Meals are paid for by the Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded program managed by the USDA and operated by the Illinois State Board of Education in conjunction with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, who prepares and delivers the meals. Volunteers from the Carpentersville Rotary Club, the Dundee Township Rotary Club, and Revcor have offered their time, along with community members and local students, to distribute the boxed lunches.

The district serves 70,000 residents of Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Gilberts, and parts of Algonquin. Visit www.frvpld.info.