(upbeat music) - The Granite School District's Summer Lunch Program helps families access nutritious food where children already gather, local parks.

Here to tell us more about a big kickoff party for the program is Bobbie Beach, welcome Bobbie.

- Thank you for having me.

- So tell me about this kickoff program.

- So this is our third annual summer kickoff.

We do summer feeding every year, but we really try to advertise it to let them know that it's such a resource to families.

So this year we're having it at Centennial Park again.

It'll be from 11:30 to 12:30.

We have a giant barbecue, we have lots of vendors and crafts.

So it's just really a fun event for the whole family.

- I love that.

And and you guys really do step in as a resource for families and for kids during the summer months making sure they're fed right?

- Absolutely.

We know the need for meals doesn't just stop when the school year ends.

So we try to gather at community gathering spaces so we can really advertise and promote it to get to as many families as possible.

- And we're not just talking about like spaghetti and meatballs or things like, you guys really think about nutrition as well for the kids, right?

- We do, so we have very strict standards that we have to abide by.

They're the same ones we have to follow during the school year.

So we offer all whole grains, we look at trans fat, sugars, lots of protein options to make sure that our kids are fed well.

- And there's a special reason why you guys have selected parks for this program.

Can you tell the audience why?

- Yes, and we firmly believe, we wanna fight the stigma of the need for meals over the summertime.

It's much easier for a child to say, "I'm going to the park to play with my friends," and can get a meal when they need it, instead of, "I have to go to a school to get a school lunch."

- [Liz] And it seems like it's all hands on deck.

People think that educators are off for the summer, but there was just an image of the superintendent helping to serve.

- Oh yes, he is very involved.

He's at our park sites all throughout the summer months to make sure he is making those meaningful connections with our students.

- Well, thank you so much for being here today and for joining us.

If you would like to learn more about this summer lunch program, we've got the information for you on the screen right now.

It's the free summer lunch kickoff party on June 10th, and that goes from 11:30 AM until 12:30 PM at Centennial Park.

The lunch program runs until July.

So if you'd love to get more information about that, just head to graniteschools.org/nutritionser.

I'm Liz Adeola.

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