Beginning the week of June 21, multiple local organizations are coming together to provide local children and teens with free, healthy meals throughout the summer through the USDA-funded Summer Food Service Program. The program is open to all children 18 and under. No questions are asked, and no registration is required. Children also do not need to be enrolled in programs hosted at sites to receive meals.

Healthy Lincoln County sponsors the program, recruiting participating organizations and sites. In summer of 2020, they worked with over 30 sites who served over 33,000 meals to children in Lincoln and Knox counties. Last summer, with support from the Sheriff’s Office, Newcastle Dodge, and Colby and Gale, the program used a van like a free food truck for kids, bringing meals to kids in specific neighborhoods. That effort will expand this summer, visiting kids in at least 10 local neighborhoods with a van that was purchased for the program last winter, thanks to a grant from No Kid Hungry.

This summer, meals will be available at the following sites:

• Boothbay-Clifford Playground, Campbell Creek, Camp Knickerbocker, and Boothbay Region YMCA
• Camden-Penobscot Bay YMCA Camps
• Damariscotta-Central Lincoln County YMCA and Ledgewood Court
• Edgecomb- Davis Island
• Jefferson Village School
• Rockland Public Library
• Thomaston Public Library
• Waldoboro-Miller School, East Ridge, Waldoborough Village, Marble Oaks, and Skyview Ridge
• Warren Community School
• Washington-Prescott Memorial School
• Wiscasset: Community Recreation Center, Maplewood, Whippoorwill, and Sheepscot Bay Apartments

The full schedule with days, times, and list of mobile sites will be posted on the Lincoln County Summer Meals Facebook page. The schedule is subject to change; new meal sites may be added.

For more information, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please call 563-1330 or visit www.healthylincolncounty.org. Lee Emmons, the program coordinator, can be reached directly at lemmons@healthylincolncounty.org.

Healthy Lincoln County is a non-profit, community health organization whose mission is to build a healthy Lincoln County through collaboration, education and outreach. HLC focuses on a number of strategies to support community health including substance use prevention, nutrition and food security, active living, and mental health. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.