Caption: Deer Park Gazette Archive 2022 – Deer Park School District staff members at the middle school ready to give kids and teens free lunches. Photo By Deer Park Gazette
As summer begins, Deer Park and Riverside School Districts launch SUN Meals, offering free meals to kids 18 and under with convenient to-go options to families. Returning to the Deer Park Middle School location for its community lunch, this program ensures no child goes hungry while school is out.
With school out for the summer, Deer Park and Riverside School Districts have launched the SUN Meals program to ensure children continue receiving nutritious meals. SUN Meals, available to kids 18 and under, provides free breakfast and lunch at schools, parks, and other community locations. In addition, Deer Park School District and Riverside School District will run the new SUN Meals To-Go program, which offers a convenient pick-up option for families in rural areas and is designed to ensure that no child goes hungry during the summer months.
The SUN Meals program is the rebranding name of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Summer Food Service Program. It is federally funded and state-administered, adhering to USDA-established rules. These rules apply uniformly across all partnering organizations and are not specific to any local entity.
In our area, the Deer Park & Riverside School Districts along with the Spokane County Library District, are collaborating as partner organizations to provide meals. Kids do not need to be part of either the Deer Park or Riverside School District or the Spokane County Library District to participate. The SUN Meals program operates with specific schedules at different locations. Children can pick up the food without parents; however, depending on the area, there are also rules for parents and guardians to pick up without children. Childcare workers may not pick up meals for their customers.
Deer Park
Deer Park School District will have separate times and locations during summer school, including a Community Lunch time. After summer school gets out, there will only be one Community lunch location and time. This year, they have moved back to the Deer Park Middle School for its Community Lunch pick-up location. It’s important to know that Deer Park School District will have no meal service on June 19th, July 3rd, or 4th. Last year, due to a lack of participation from the community, the Deer Park Community Lunch ended early. To read more, you can go to News.dpgazette.com/2023/08/free-kids-summer-lunch-program-ended-early/.
Riverside
Riverside School District will provide a streamlined distribution system with multi-day food packs available for pick-up on Mondays and Thursdays, starting June 17th. Parents or guardians can pick up the meals by signing a one-time waiver, affirming the children are in their care. Riverside will not serve meals on June 19th and July 4th.
The USDA emphasizes the importance of children’s access to healthy food during the summer. With nearly 30 million children relying on school meals during the academic year, programs like SUN Meals support families and foster community health.
Below is a list of sites where children can receive free food.
Deer Park School District
Site Name and Address |
Scheduled Dates |
Meals/Times |
Community Lunch |
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Session 1: Community Lunch Deer Park Middle School 347 S. Colville Deer Park, WA |
Monday – Thursday June 17th – July 18th Friday’s Only Breakfast and Lunch Multi-Day Food Packs |
Lunch – 12:00pm to 12:30pm
|
Session 2: Community Lunch Deer Park Middle School 347 S. Colville Deer Park, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only July 22nd – August 16th Breakfast and Lunch Multi-Day Food Packs |
Lunch – 12:00pm to 12:30pm
|
Meals will be served during summer school at the following locations: |
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Deer Park Elementary Cafeteria 1500 E. “D” Street Deer Park, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only June 17th – July 18th |
Breakfast – 8:05am to 8:20am Lunch – 11:40am to 12:00pm |
Arcadia Elementary Cafeteria 1120 E. “D” Street Deer Park, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only June 17th – July 18th |
Breakfast – 8:00am to 8:15am Lunch – 11:40am to 12:00pm |
Deer Park Middle School Cafeteria 347 S. Colville Deer Park, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only June 17th – July 18th |
Breakfast – 8:15am to 8:30am Lunch – 11:35am to 11:50am |
Deer Park High School Commons 800 South Weber Deer Park, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only June 17th – July 18th |
Breakfast – 9:00am to 9:15am Lunch – 11:30am to 11:45am |
Spokane County Library District
Site Name and Address |
Schedule Dates |
Meals/Times |
Deer Park Library 208 S Forest Ave Deer Park, WA |
Monday – Friday June 14th – August 28th |
Afternoon Snack – 2:30pm to 5:30pm Snacks must be eaten at the Library. |
Riverside School District
Site Name and Address |
Schedule Dates |
Meals/Times |
Riverside Elementary 3802 E. Deer Park-Milan Rd. Chattaroy, WA |
Monday and Thursday Only July 17th – August 16th Breakfast and Lunch Multi-Day Food Packs |
Lunch – 11:00am to 11:30am
|
People can find site locations and more information on summer meals for kids through the USDA Summer Food Service Program at:
- Online: Summerfood.usda.gov