Brooklyn to provide free summer lunch program with help of grant – News – The Bulletin – Norwich, CT Brooklyn to provide free summer lunch program with help of grant

BROOKLYN For the first time, Brooklyn qualifies to host a free summer lunch program.

The school district’s cafeteria staff applied for and received a grant to participate in End Hunger Connecticut’s summer lunch program, which will provide meals for any child 18 and under who comes to one of two delivery sites in town.

“We’ve applied before and never qualified,” said Doris Marquis, the district’s cafeteria manager. “This years our numbers went up just slightly and we qualified.”

Marquis said nearly 55 percent of Brooklyn’s students now receive free and reduced lunch.

Along with Middle School Cafeteria Manager Tammy Taft, she will work with staff in the middle school cafeteria to provide the lunches.

Marquis said they will also provide a bagged breakfast children can take and have for the following morning.

End Hunger Connecticut administers the program, which receives federal funding.

There will be no cost to the district, although Marquis said they will need some supplies they’ve never had need of before, such as large coolers, pop-up tents and ice packs to transport the food. All of the children participating in the camp will be eligible for the free lunches.

Lohbusch will also be running a summer program for older children at the teen center, which will also be a site for the lunch program.

The teen center site will be easily accessible to all of Tiffany Street and Quebec Square.

Lohbusch said having the summer meal program is a relief.

“We’ve always known there were children who were hungry at camp,” Lohbusch said.