Published: June 06, 2008 06:21 pm      

All Jacksonville children invited for free lunch at catholic church

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

With more than 70 percent of the students in Jacksonville schools qualifying for free or reduced lunches because of their parents’ economic status, summertime can present a hardship for families unaccustomed to paying for their children’s lunches.

Recognizing this problem, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church will once again be offering its Summer Food Service Program for children under the age of 19 — providing a free lunch to many children who otherwise may not be able to afford lunch during the summer months.

“Any child that is hungry, between the ages of 1 and 18, is invited to come eat with us. Everybody is welcome,” said Father Mark Kusmirek of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Starting June 9 and continuing through Aug. 28, the program will run Monday through Friday at two locations in town — at the church from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and at the Sweet Union Apartment Complex from noon to 1 p.m.

The program has grown steadily since it came to Jacksonville three years ago. In its first year, the free lunch program was forced to shut down early due to lack of participation, but last year as many as 70 children came to the church each day for a free meal. Program planners hope to be able to maintain last year’s level of attendance in light of increased fuel costs.

“We are hoping to keep the attendance level where we had it last year, but of course it would be wonderful if we could exceed that,” said Anna Paredes, director of religious education at Our Lady of Sorrows. “We are extending the date for the program this year to begin right when school ends and to continue until classes start up again.”

In order to assist those families who have trouble transporting their children to the two Jacksonville locations, the church will make trips with its van to several spots around town; including a number of local mobile home parks. Kusmirek said anyone interest in the program who is unable to get their children to one of the lunch locations can call the church at 903-586-4538, and volunteers will do everything in their power to make accommodations.

All the Summer Food Service Program’s food is provided free by the East Texas Food Bank. Lunches range from ham-and-cheese sandwiches to fish nuggets to baked chicken. Last summer, the food bank delivered more than 118,000 free meals to 27 participating sites in 11 counties.

“The families and kids have been very, very appreciative. This program is a wonderful thing — I love to see the kids enjoying themselves. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worth it,” Paredes said.

At least once a week the church volunteers intend to have special activities planned for the kids, either an arts-and-crafts project or a movie. Later in the summer, Our Lady of Sorrows will also be starting a program to provide free school supplies for underprivileged children.

“Feeding and taking care of kids are things that are very dear to our hearts. We try to run our fastest and jump our highest to help our children,” Kusmirek said. “We wish we could help them seven days a week, but if we are able to feed a kid just one day a week so he doesn’t go to bed hungry, I’ll be happy.”