School’s nearly out, organizations around Rapid City step up to provide summertime meals for kids

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Summer brings warm weather, sunshine and for a lot of students the school year to a close.

Since some families rely on school to get their children fed, organizations across Rapid City will step up within the next few days to make sure no child is hungry.

Mark Kline, Assistant Executive Director at The Club for Boys, says their meals are for those who are 18 and younger. Where breakfast and lunch are served in their cafeteria at 8:30 in the morning through 9:30, and noon to one.

The Rapid City Area School District, Youth and Family Services and the YMCA also have summer meal programs.

Kline says the reason is not only to make sure kids are getting fed, but also to ensure the food they eat is nutritious. ”We have a salad bar with fresh veggies everyday for lunch. We don’t want to be that site that just opens cans and warms up food. So, we try to have recipes and homemade meals as well as just kid-friendly food like chicken nuggets, hots dogs and hamburgers.”

Kline says kids need food for proper development just as much as they need it for growth.

He says the Club for Boys also partners with Feeding South Dakota to send kids who are members home with backpacks to make sure they’re fed over the weekends.

A grant from the Black Hills Area Community Foundation also allows some meal sites to feed parents bringing in their kids as well.

List of times and locations for summertime meals: