Austin Parks & Recreation Department
June 1-July 28
Jorge Zapata, supervisor of the Austin PARD’s summer free-lunch program, is serious about outreach. He wants the parents of all Austin school kids who qualify for reduced-price or free lunches to know their kids are welcome at the 55 PARD summer free-lunch sites around the city. “We have sites serving lunch in any neighborhood where 50% of the kids in that neighborhood’s school are eligible for free lunches during the year,” he explained last week. As a case in point, Zapata mentioned Becker Elementary in near South Austin, where over 50% of the student body qualifies for reduced-price or free lunches. The summer lunch site for the Becker neighborhood is at a housing project within a couple of blocks of the school, and any child in that neighborhood from toddlers to kids up to 18 is welcome to come for lunch this summer. Cold lunches will be served in recreation centers and parks, at schools, and Boys & Girls Clubs all over the city. Funds for the program come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Texas Department of Human Services.
Zapata’s concern is that there are 40,000 school children in the Austin area who are eligible for reduced-price or free lunches during the school year, and the PARD program he supervises only fed 1,360 kids last summer. He’d like to see those numbers go up this summer so he’s eager to spread the word. Parents who want to know where the summer free-lunch site will be in their neighborhood can contact Jorge Zapata at his office, 480-3004, or check with their local recreation center.
This article appears in April 28 • 2000.