Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Families enjoy lunch served by Ironwood Area Schools staff through its Summer Food Services Program at the Ironwood Depot Park on Monday. The meals are served from 11 a.m. to noon on Mondays through Fridays until Aug. 19 and are free for children under 18 years old.
By ZACHARY MARANO
Ironwood - Luther L. Wright K-12 School's last day of school was June 3, but Ironwood Area Schools staff are still serving meals to youth in the community over summer break.
The school's summer food service program offers lunch at the Ironwood Depot Park from 11 a.m. to noon on Mondays through Fridays through Aug. 19.
Lisa Ursini, a food services staff member, said that many people seem to think that only children from low-income families can get food through this program, but anyone 18 years old and younger can pick up a meal for free. This includes children from surrounding communities like Bessemer and Hurley, as program is not exclusive to students from Ironwood Area Schools.
Ursini also said that people who are over 18 years old can also get meals, but at a small cost. She said that parents often come during the week and eat with their children. They sometimes bringing blankets and sit on the grass near the pavilion during program hours.
Ursini said that she was pleasantly surprised to see 70 to 80 people come to pick up lunch each day, including parents, as she expected the primary benefactors of this program to be children with two working parents who cannot prepare meals for them during the summer. She said it was even better to see them getting outside and spending time together as a family.
Food services staff prepare the food at the school, testing its sodium levels and making sure it is stored at the proper temperatures before transporting it to the depot park for serving. The meals meet the nutritional standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ursini said that community organizations such as Michigan State University Extension-Gogebic County, the Ironwood-Hurley Rotary Club and the Ironwood Carnegie Library have partnered with the food service program to provide activities for children when they come to get their meals.
The summer food service program will not be serving lunch on July 4. Ursini said they will also not be offering meals on July 13-15 because Festival Ironwood will be taking place in the park on those days.
