Photos by Russ Carmack
If you’re the parent or guardian of a child in the Tacoma School District, you’re likely getting the same near-daily texts I am: free lunches are available at such-and-such school or park near you! Before my own kids started school, I had no idea how many resources were available to kids and families in Tacoma.
One morning in the first week after school let out, I took our kids to Manitou Park. It was mostly empty save for a lady playing with her dog, and a jogger now and then on the perimeter. As we rounded the bathrooms to get to the playground, there were two people in Metro Parks shirts sat at a table, happy to see us. “HI! Welcome to the park. If you stay ‘til 12:30, there’s free lunch!” There was a young man and a woman, and I asked if I’d accidentally stumbled into a summer camp. “Nope! It’s just the summer lunch program. Any kid can get lunch. And there are playground activities if you’re interested!” The young man was very excited. He skipped off to burn some energy on the swings.
During Covid when schools were still shuttered, I’d seen people lined up in cars, and lunches given out at schools around us—we’d gotten emails about it then as our oldest started school that year—but I was surprised to see this pair set up with a giant cooler and lots of enthusiasm.
It turns out the Playground Program started in the ‘80s, and the meals began in the ‘90s. Playground staff are mostly college-aged and have the zeal to keep up with your kids. They play games, do crafts and STEAM activities, and chat besides offering nutritious lunch to anyone 18 and under. “Many of the playground and meal staff work in schools during the school year as nutrition specialists, para-educators, and more,” says Heidi Burke, Summer Food Service Program Meal Monitor. “It’s a win-win…The staff is also another layer of teaching, listening and such along with parents and child care providers that bring their kids to our parks.”
This link shows a map of all the locations and a description of the program.
Lunch & Playground Program:
- Franklin Park
- Manitou Park
- Northeast Tacoma Playground
- South Park
- Verlo Playfield
- Wright Park
Lunch Only:
- Portland Avenue Park
- Roosevelt Park
- Titlow Park
- Wapato Park
(Note: They’re not serving at Salishan Family Investment Center anymore because St. Leo’s is taking care of that location, but they have started serving at Portland Avenue Park.)
As of Monday July 22nd, the program has served about 6,000 meals around town, averaging 1,500 meals a week. They use past data to decide how many lunches to serve where, and depending on weather and community need, they adjust the numbers daily. “We have a program that is bringing equity to Tacoma’s children and bridges a much-needed gap that many families have in between school years, and that need isn’t going away,” says Heidi. She adds that Metro Parks has no intention of ending the program, so keep it in mind for next summer as well. And if you know someone who loves kids, Metro Parks posts the position on their website around mid-June.
In addition to the summer meal program, there is ANOTHER program called All Youth Can Eat, where people 18 and under (and some college students 18-24 years old with college ID) can eat for free at different restaurants around Tacoma and Seattle, each day of the week. Check out this link for more details!
For anyone outside of Tacoma, United Way has a map of free meals all over Pierce County.
