Free Lunches for Youths Scheduled

Free lunches will be distributed to children at nine sites in western Ventura County beginning June 19, officials said.

Though family income is not a qualifying factor, most of the distribution points are in low-income areas, said Noreen Heidemann, assistant director of food services for the Ventura Unified School District.

Children who can feed themselves and are under 17 qualify for the lunches.

“It gives kids who are on free and reduced lunches during the school year somewhere to go during the summer,” Heidemann said.

The Ventura school system is administering the program with a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is the second summer that Ventura educators have offered free lunches, Heidemann said.

There are no forms to fill out to receive the lunch. But children must be able to feed themselves and parents are not allowed to eat with the children, she said.

Meals will be prepared each day in the cafeteria at Cabrillo Middle School and delivered to the nine lunch sites, Heidemann said. Meals will be served between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The program will continue through the end of July for year-round schools and through Sept. 1 for schools on traditional calendars.

The sites are: Westpark Community Center in Ventura; Boys & Girls Club in west Ventura; Boys & Girls Club in east Ventura; the Ventura Housing Authority building on Riverside Drive in Ventura; the Huntzinger Youth Sports Complex at Saticoy Avenue and Telephone Road in Ventura; the Boys & Girls Club in Port Hueneme; the Boys & Girls Club on 7th Street in Oxnard; La Colonia Recreation Center in Oxnard; and Durley Park Recreation Center in Oxnard.